


Carry The Fire

by AProblematicWriter



Category: Minecraft: Story Mode - Fandom, The Long Dark (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Death and lot’s of it!, Eventual Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Language, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Apocalypse, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, Survival, description of injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17581379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AProblematicWriter/pseuds/AProblematicWriter
Summary: The world was dark, cold, and silent. Dead. Or dying. Or maybe giving way to something new. Something worse. The old world, and everything they knew, had died in a burst of light. And the new one? The new one had one code:Survival of the fittest.* The chapter(s) marked with an asterisk have been revised and edited.





	1. The Crash

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my new long-fic! I don't know how long it's gonna be or if I'll ever finish it, but let's see how this goes, yeah? Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be kind!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *

** Warnings: Blood, insensitivity toward a panic attack, Swearing **

 

November 28, 2014

 

> _“This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.” – T.S Eliot_

 

Winter’s in Jesse’s home town of _Tundra Heights_ had always been cold. Actually, it was cold year-round in the small mountain town. 9 months’ out of the year it snowed and even when it wasn’t snowing there was still snow covering the ground. It wasn’t a tourist attraction, that’s for sure. Maybe that was why her mom and dad had decided to settle there. Barely 100 people lived in the Heights, and that number dwindled to about 45 toward the harsh winter season.

Too many of the winter’s were awful for Jesse to really say the worst, but one year stood out like a sore thumb. _The blizzard of ’03_ , they had called it, so much snow had fallen people had stopped counting the inches. No one could get anywhere. Hysteria ran wild. Everyone thought they were going to freeze or starve. Fortunately, the snow stopped falling and the spring thaw came. It was a scare no one had forgotten, though. One everyone in Tundra Heights was always preparing for now.

[Not that many people lived in _the Heights_ anymore. After the recent earthquake had finally collapsed the Kettering tunnel. It had gone through the Stony Mountains and been constructed in the seventies. Jesse guessed it had been through just three too many earthquakes in its years. Flying was the only way in, or out, for the time being.]

Jesse had never liked flying, but it was a must when you lived 16 hours away—and the only tunnel through a mountain range had been collapsed. The plane ride, fortunately, cut the trip down to just shy of 3. Jesse lived in Beacontown, had for six months now. The weather in the city was temperate and the summers were long. The choice to move had been tough, but the job offer was far too tempting to pass up. [Jesse was pretty good at leading and a management position at the illustrious Wintermute conglomerate—a winter clothing distributor—was her big break] Mom and dad were proud, if not a bit saddened by her departure. That’s why she had flown to the small mountain town of her youth for the Harvestfest. Her mother had been thrilled. Her father tried to pretend he wasn’t too sick to enjoy her visit. Jesse made a note to visit again soon.

It had been snowing hard in Tundra Heights when Jesse left for the Oak Creek International Airport. The storm had let up in the small city, thankfully, and her plane had gotten off the ground without a hiccup. Now, Jesse was leant up against the window watching the clouds pass her below. There was a buzz in the coach cabin; a small child behind her was jabbering to his mother about their trip to Mystery Lake. [They’d went ice fishing from what she could catch] Jesse remembered days spent at the lake. Her father had been in better health then. Jesse sighed and tried to focus on the blanket of clouds outside. Maybe, just maybe, if she focused enough, she could pretend she was floating above them rather than flying.

It wasn’t long before Jesse drifted into sleep. The buzz of the people a perfect lullaby, somehow. Now, she really was floating above clouds and it was warm and she could smell the humid air of the ocean.

 _It was perfect_.

Her dream was shattered when the plane shook violently and someone in the cabin yelped. Jesse bolted upright; her eyes shooting across the cabin. Everyone seemed a bit tense. A hushed murmur buzzing around her. The young woman next to her [a rather pale girl with long, red hair] pulled her earbuds out, lips in a tight line as she pushed her thin-framed glasses up on her nose.

“What was that?”

“Turbulence.”

Jesse looked over at the young male in the aisle seat. He had his arms wrapped around his middle, his face twisted up in a scowl. He was lighter-skinned, but not nearly as pale as the red headed girl next to Jesse. He had a soft jaw line and thin noes and thick eye brows. Conventionally attractive is how she would describe him. Even if he did look rather mean with that scowl.

A sharp _ding!_ came over the intercom followed by the flight attendants voice.

“Hello everyone, we are experiencing some mild turbulence, but should be out of the worst of it in the next five minutes. Please remain calm.”

Jesse blinked and settled into the back of her seat.

“See?” the boy said his scowl dropping the smallest bit as he pulled at the drawstrings of his hoodie. “I told ya.”

The redheaded girl rolled her eyes before putting her earbuds back in. She turned her phone up and settled her head against the back of her seat. Jesse could faintly hear the rock song blasting through. It was one of her more favored grunge bands.

The plane shook again and Jesse gripped the arms of her seat. She’d never been through turbulence before. She’d only flown twice thus far and it had always gone without a hitch. The other passengers seemed to think nothing of the occasional, violent shaking. Jesse’s heartbeat pounded in her throat. She took a deep breath in through her nose, held it, and exhaled slow through her mouth. She did this for the next minute until her calming exercise was interrupted.

“You’re not gonna have a panic attack, are you?”

Jesse glared at the young male. He was looking right at her now, chartreuse gaze firm. “Well, _that’s_ insensitive.”

“I’m just making sure,” He said dryly. “It’ll be hard to calm you down if you do and the air’s pretty damn thin up here.”

“I’m _fine_.” She sneered the slightest bit; an innate reaction that the boy seemed to find amusement in.

“Alright, _Princess_ , no need to get touchy.” He crossed his arms again, sunk in his seat, and gazed ahead.

Jesse huffed and crossed her arms. _What a jerk,_ she thought as she looked out her window. It was darker now; the clouds thick and foreboding. There were no stars, but it was definitely sun down.

How long had she been asleep?

The plane jostled again, a little more violently this time then the others. Jesse tensed. The redheaded girl lifted her head abruptly. Her face pulled into a scowl. “Oh, _c’mon_!”

The young woman picked up her phone and shook it, pressing the power button at the top. It didn’t seem to help the problem. The redheaded girl cursed under her breath before yanking her earbuds out with a huff and settling into the back of her seat with her arms crossed.

Desperately in need of a distraction, Jesse decided to speak up.

“Your phone die?”

The redheaded girl looked at Jesse with a scowl before her face fell and she nodded. “Must of.” The redhead huffed. “I charged the battery before the flight though.”

“Did you actually, though?” the brunet in the aisle seat teased, his lips quirked in a smug smirk.

The redhead glared at the boy. “Yeah, I did.”

“Really?” the brunet cocked his head. “Because you forgot last time.”

“Don’t make me punch you,” The young woman replied, eyes narrowing. “Wouldn’t want to bruise that _pretty_ face of yours again.”

Jesse couldn’t help but snort as the male shifted away from the female. His lips pulled into a tight grimace. He grumbled something she couldn’t quite catch, crossing his arms. They seemed to have gotten through the worst of the turbulence now and the plane cabin was finally settled again. The child behind them was talking up a storm.

Jesse looked back over at the redheaded girl only to find her already watching. She managed a smile.

“So, where are you coming from?” Jesse asked

“Me and _bozo_ here,” the redhead jerked her thumb back at the boy in the aisle seat. He stuck his tongue out at her. “were coming back from a family reunion in Oak Creek.”

“So, you know each other then?”

“We’re cousins.”

That made sense to Jesse. They acted like cousins did.

“What about you?” the redhead turned fully towards her. “Where were you coming from?”

Jesse made a face. “Tundra Heights.”

The boy in the aisle seat gave an exaggerated shiver accompanied by him rubbing at his arms. “Brrr! Your family must be _crazy_ to live up there!”

“My mom and dad are used to the cold,” Jesse replied and frowned. “and enjoy the quiet.”

“But you don’t.” The young male said. Jesse began to counter him only to realize he was right. He seemed pleased by that fact, sitting up a little straighter.

“Yeah, I guess,” She frowned. “I like Beacontown better.”

“Beacontown’s alright,” the redheaded woman chimed in. “but Champion City’s _so_ much better.”

Jesse rolled her eyes. “Never liked Champion City much.”

“It’s not as bad as Tundra Heights!” the brunet male retorted. Jesse had no comeback; he wasn’t wrong.

Silence took over and Jesse thought for a long moment before deciding to provide her name to her new acquaintances. She hadn’t many friends in Beacontown anyhow.

“I’m Jessica, by the way. Everyone calls me Jesse, though.”

“Cassie Rose.” The redheaded girl beamed.

Jesse looked over expectantly at the boy in the aisle seat. His lips pinched, and he looked quite sour that she would even want his name. He spoke up, nonetheless, after Cassie pinched his wrist.

“Ow!” he glared at the redhead before scrunching his nose, “Aiden.”

Jesse snorted and shook her head. “It’s nice to meet you two. I—" A bright green light stole Jesse’s train of thought. She turned her head and her brow furrowed in confusion. They were too far south to see the Northern lights.

 “Is that…?” Cassie began.

The plane gave a violent shudder and the lights in the cabin flickered. Jesse’s heart beat hammered in her throat as she gripped the arms of her seat.

“What…?” she stuttered.

Another violent shudder wracked the plan; the lights flickering once more. The plane cabin was _deathly_ silent. A crackle of static came over the intercom but the voice on the other end was inaudible. The light outside grew more intense, it was hard to look at. There was… something like a hum reverberating in the plane. It was the lights.

_What was going on?!_

The flight attendant appeared from behind the curtain. He looked terrified. “Um, we are experiencing some _major_ technical difficulties. It is advised you put on your seat belts.”

The flight attendant took an empty seat at the front. Jesse’s airways constricted. The plane, once on a steady forward path, now tilted downward in a nose dive. _They were losing altitude. **They were losing altitude**_! Jesse secured her belt and gripped the arms of her seat tighter. Her eyes shot over to Aiden and Cassie. Their hands were tangled together. Her breath shuddered with every inhale and exhale.

The buzz of the lights grew to an almost deafening roar as their flicker increased in frequency before finally bursting. The cabin was sent into darkness. Everyone was screaming. A cacophony of wails that shook Jesse to her core. The whole plane shook. And Jesse realized she was probably going to die.

_Oh God, she didn’t want to die! She wanted to go back home. She wanted--_

The plane made impact with the ground and Jesse was slammed forward before being jerked to the side, knocking her head against the window. White hot pain splintered from her temple and then black spotted her vision. The last thing she was aware of was the deafening sound of metal against rock.

And then nothing.

 

* * *

 

 

“Did you check the battery before we—?”

“Yes, dear, I did.”

They had made this trip every year for the past six years, in this very car, and it had never had a problem. Ever. This trip had been odd enough, however; _of course_ , the car would give out in the middle of some nowhere road, at night, in the middle of winter. Ivor tried it again. There wasn’t even a whine from the car. It was like it had went completely dead.

“It’s definitely the battery, hon.” Harper said as she pulled her hair back into a tight pony tail.

Ivor huffed through his nose, frustrated, and dropped his head on the headrest. He looked over at his wife. She seemed completely calm in this adversity.  It was one of her great qualities that Ivor had fallen in-love with in the first place.

“I know, hon.” He said. A fond smile taking over his frustrated grimace.

She snickered and patted his hand. “Well, at least Soren was following us,” She settled her hand on his and squeezed. “we can just have him—”

There was a fervent knock on the passenger window. Soren, in his grey duster and stocking cap, looked confused and slightly frightened. Looking past Soren, Ivor could see why.

The sky was alight with color.

Now, under the right circumstances, Ivor would have seen this as wonderful, but they were just a tad too far south to see the Northern Lights. _Something wasn’t right_. Harper was out of the car before Ivor could move. He followed after.

“Is that—?” Harper breathed.

“The Aurora Borealis.” Soren hummed; his eyes trailed to Harper and he frowned. “I was coming to inform you two that my car died, but—”

Ivor’s chest tightened. “Your car died, too?”

Soren looked at Ivor wide-eyed. “Too?”

“It seems our battery died…” Ivor replied. His gaze caught by the lights in the sky. Something was wrong. Why had both their cars died? Why was the sky lit up? And then he saw something moving across the sky, fast, plummeting straight for the clearing in front of them. Was it _a plane_?

If it was, there was no evidence as to why it was falling out of the sky. No smoke trail as if the engines had busted. The entire jet just seemed dead and gravity was pulling it to the earth. It made impact a couple hundred meters away. The ground shook violently; the sound of metal scraping against rock was deafening. It snagged powerlines and boulders and trees until it finally came to a stop. Ivor was sure he could hear screams.

_How—_

Ivor stared at the crash agape, they all did.

Harper was the first to break the silence. “We have to go see if anyone is okay!”

And before Ivor could reason with his wife that it’d be better to call the police or run somewhere to get help, she was gone. Hopping over the fence and sprinting toward the wreckage. Ivor met Soren’s eyes, they were as frightened as he felt, and his old friend sighed shakily.

“Something’s _wrong_ , Ivor.” Soren looked grim and before Ivor could ask him to elaborate, he was gone too. Ivor followed after sprinting over the expanse of the clearing to the plane. There were definitely screams and they were bloodcurdling. Whatever had happened, it was big.

And it wasn’t good.

 

* * *

 

 

 _Dark_. No life flashing before her eyes. No light at the end of a tunnel. Just dark. And then the sound of voices, so muffled Jesse didn’t know if they were _real_. She was faintly aware of all kinds of sensations; most forwardly, pain. Agonizing. In her head, in her arms, her legs, her torso. Everywhere.

And then it dulled. Not by much, but she preferred the dull ache to the demanding scream. And it was quiet again. Too quiet. And dark. _So. Very. Dark_.

She struggled against her heavy eyelids, blinking up at the roof of a car. For a moment, she thought maybe it had all been a dream. That she had never boarded the plane, that she’d just been in the back of her mom and dad’s Buick. That delusion was quickly shattered by the dull, but persistently growing, ache in her head.

Jesse hissed in pain as she sat herself up. A sudden and debilitating dizzy spell taking over, she raised her hand to her forehead. Her palm met a makeshift bandage and came away sticky with blood. Jesse’s stomach lurched and she felt the bile rise quickly at the back of her throat. She threw the itchy wool blanket off her and made for the door. Just managing to open it enough before retching violently.

“Whoa!”

Jesse brought the back of her hand to her mouth, wiping away what was left of the small meal she’d had before getting on the plane. Dazed, she found her gaze locking with that of a younger boy’s. His glasses were cracked and his face bruised; black hair disheveled. His gaze left hers and he cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Hey!” he called out. His voice was as boyish as his appearance suggested. “The girl’s awake!”

Jesse blinked and followed the boy’s gaze to that of an older man’s. His hair was shoulder length and beard well-kept. His duster a navy green and sweeping around his ankles. He approached and then knelt in front of Jesse; not seeming to care about the lost lunch in front of him.

“How are you feeling?” the man asked. His voice reminded her of a doctor’s; calm and cool.

“Dizzy,” Jesse answered; her stomach lurching again. “and sick.

“To be expected,” the man said slowly. “I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on you.”

“You’re a doctor, then?” Jesse closed her eyes a moment, trying to fight the sudden second wave of nausea.

The man nodded. “Doctor Ivor Pelletier. You sustained quite the head injury when your plane crashed.”

Jesse blinked. “What happened?”

“It depends on what you would believe.” Ivor said. Judging by his tone and expression, he didn’t believe what he was about to tell her. “My colleague seems to think that we were just in a major geomagnetic event.” The doctor grimaced. “and that is what took down your plane.”

Jesse blinked again. She was confused and dizzy and tired. _So tired_. “Are there others?”

“There are a few others. This boy,” Ivor gestured to the teen standing by.

“Radar,” the boy said. He looked away immediately after. “My name is Radar.”

Ivor gave him an acknowledging nod. “ _Radar_ and a few others.”

Jesse nodded and grimaced as her head began to pound. “There were so many of us on that plane….” Her stomach lurched, but for a different reason. _How many people had died_?

Ivor frowned as he rose to his full height. “I know,” he turned to Radar. “Get her over by the fire.”

Radar nodded and Ivor was off, back to the fire. Jesse could see the flicker of the flame from where she sat; shadows moving back and forth across the snow. She didn’t think she recognized any of the people sitting around it.  Except the person in the black hoodie… they looked familiar from here. She’d need a closer look to really be sure though.

“Um…”

Jesse looked up and tried to smile at the boy. She pushed herself up from the seat and the world tilted violently. She took hold of the car door before it could take her with it.

“Hold on, miss.” Radar said as he leant into the back seat and grabbed the blanket, throwing it over his shoulder and coming to her side. He was a fair bit shorter than her. Jesse didn’t see how this was going to work. He seemed to be thinking the same thing; his lips pursing as he assessed the situation.

Jesse released the door—she could do this, it wasn’t _that_ far--but found standing still to be harder than she thought. She swayed back and forth on her feet before taking hold of the car door again. She sighed, frustrated, and looked upon the teen. He wouldn’t be able to hold her weight and she couldn’t keep herself steady enough. Maybe they should—

“Here, let me take her.”

It was the boy from the aisle seat, Aiden. He looked _unscathed_. Jesse doubted that was the case though. She pushed herself away from the door and latched her arm around Aiden’s steady frame. _He was almost a foot taller than her_. His arm locked around her, fingers pressing firmly into her side.

They got over to the fire. Aiden settling her down by a woman with greying hair. Jesse tried to smile and thank him, but he didn’t give her a chance. Moving to sit on the left of the fire where Jesse couldn’t see him. Jesse had all of a moment to dwell on that before Radar draped the blanket over her shoulders.

“Here you go, miss.”

Jesse smiled and pulled the blanket closer. Her thin, fleece sweater did nothing for the winter chill. “Thank you,” she said sweetly. “you can call me Jesse.”

Radar nodded. “You’re welcome, mi—I mean—Jesse!”

Jesse smiled at the boy bemusedly as he crossed over and sat beside a woman and her child. They looked a lot like him. Dark hair and tan skin. _His family_. Jesse’s chest tightened.

“Jesse, was it?”

Jesse looked over at the older woman—her voice was smooth, calming—and nodded. “Yeah, you?”

“Harper,” She said warmly then, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, continued. The doctor, Ivor, was sitting next to her. “you already met my husband.”

Jesse looked between the two a moment before nodding. “Thank you… for patching me up.”

“It was nothing,” Ivor replied waving his hand dismissively. “after your plane went down… we had to help all of you.”

Jesse frowned and nodded. She looked around at her ragtag group. All brought together by something awful. What that something was Jesse was still unsure of.

“You said a ‘geomagnetic event’ caused the plane to crash…” Jesse trailed off. _What was a ‘geomagnetic event’_?

“It was a _large_ geomagnetic event,” A man (his hair was auburn and curly and matched his mustache and beard), sitting next to Radar’s family across from her, said. Perhaps the colleague Ivor had been talking about? “It took down the whole grid. That’s what those auroras were from.”

Jesse swallowed thickly. Her confusion didn’t subside. “so, it, _what_? Killed the plane?”

“Fried the electricals, actually.” The redheaded man said. “Did the same to our cars. And the streetlamps and everything else electrical.”

“So, what?” It was Aiden that interjected, his voice dry and irritated. “No power? For how long?”

“That… is a conundrum. We could have power in the next hour. “ the man frowned and Jesse felt her stomach sink. “but, with the severity of the geomagnetic storm, I _highly_ doubt that.”

“So then, what can we expect, Soren?” Harper piped up.

‘Soren’ frowned and then, grimly, “We might never get the power back.”

Jesse was sure something was wrapping around her throat, constricting her airways. Her parents relied on the heating to stay warm. Her father **_needed_** his oxygen machine at night. Suddenly, her situation wasn’t the worst thing. _Would her father even survive the night?_ She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head. She couldn’t think about that. _She wouldn’t._

“Momma?” Jesse recognized that voice; it was the boy from the plane. She looked upon the young boy. _Had Radar and his family sat behind them_?

“Yes, munchkin?” the mother—whose voice was thick with a southern accent—pulled her child closer. Radar looked upon the boy sadly.

“I’m hungry.” The boy said leaning into his mother’s touch.

The mother tightened her arm around the boy. “I know, baby.”

Jesse frowned. _The poor kid_. Harper shifted in her spot and reached into the inner pocket of her coat. She pulled out what looked to be an energy bar.

“Here,” Harper said, extending it out, “It isn’t much, but it should hold your son over until we can find something else.”

The mother smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Harper.”

Radar got up and took the snack from Harper. He then opened it before handing it to the boy.

“You’re welcome…” Harper paused her lips pursing. “I don’t think I ever caught your name?”

“Jody.” the women said. “and these’re my boys: Henry.” She ruffled the boy’s hair. He pulled away as he finished off the energy bar, pocketing the wrapper. “an’ Radar.”

Radar took his mother’s hand and smiled. Jesse frowned and looked off at the moon; It was full tonight. _What were they going to do with no power? They were all hurt and winters in the Green Valley could be the death of anyone not prepared._

“We need to find help, _don’t we_?” Jesse said looking back at Harper. “We can’t just stay here.”

“Yes, we should go looking for help,” Harper said quietly. “maybe there are people better off than we are?” the woman looked over to her husband placing her hand atop his.

Ivor smiled wearily. “It isn’t the worst idea.”

“There’s a town nearby,” Soren replied. “ _Victor Village_. I saw it on our map.”

“Then we should search there,” Harper said decisively, looking around at everyone. “It’ll be better than just waiting around.”

“Who would go do that? Some of us aren’t exactly _ready to travel_.” Jesse didn’t recognize the voice. She leaned over and saw the woman it belonged to. She was tall and bulky with short brown hair; her face was riddled with bruises. There was a petite blonde girl clinging to her. She looked banged up, a bandage above her eye and her lip busted. Aiden sat next to them, his arms crossed and head down.

Jesse frowned. _Where was Cassie_? Her heart sunk as her brain connected the dots. _She didn’t make it_.

“Anyone who can or wants to,” Ivor answered; he grimaced as he shook his head. “there’s no need to plan it out tonight. It’s late and we all need rest.”

The brunette nodded and hugged the blonde a little closer. Jesse frowned once more and leaned back. She could only think of her mother and father. And how they must have been doing right now. They were probably worried sick about her. They were probably freezing.

“Mommy?” Henry said. Jesse watched as he tugged at the sleeve of Jody’s puffer-coat. “I’m sleepy.”

“Yeah?” Jody hummed, pulling the child to her again.

“You can put the boy to sleep in my car.” Soren said, smiling reassuringly the mother’s way. “It has a camper shell. You and your boys can sleep back there.”

Jody looked stunned a moment before she smiled. “Thank you, Soren.” the mother hauled her child up. “C’mon, you, let’s get ya to sleep.”

The boy clung to his mother as she began to walk towards the vehicles, past Jesse. Radar was right behind them. He spared Jesse a warm smile before his back was turned to her. Jesse watched the trio climb into the back of the truck. _At least they had each other._

Time passed. Jesse picked at her nails. No one spoke. Ivor and Harper were the next one’s to leave the warmth of the fire and head to the vehicles. They had taken the back of, what Jesse assumed was, their car. Next the brunette and blonde left, getting into the front of Soren’s truck. And then finally Soren himself decided to turn in. He told Aiden to keep an eye on her and to wake him, Harper, or Ivor if anything was wrong. Aiden waved him away with a curt nod.

They sat there in silence for the longest time, both probably contemplating the direness of this situation, before Jesse decided to break it.

“I’m sorry about Cassie.” She said softly. He still sat far away. Still looked so distant and melancholy. Looked unlike the boy Jesse had exchanged words with on the plane.

“Don’t talk about her.” Aiden growled. Jesse frowned.

“I just—”

“ _Don’t_ ,” he snapped. “she’s _dead,_ and we’re all gonna die. I don’t need your pity.”

Jesse grimaced and looked down at her lap. He clearly didn’t want comfort. So, she decided not to provide it. She stared at the dimming fire and sighed. She was tired. So very tired. Her head heavy and limbs weak. She just wanted this nightmare to be over. Sleep sounded nice. _Really nice_. She pushed herself up and the world spun. Her vison splotching as she teetered forward. She was lucky Aiden was quick enough to catch her before she faceplanted into the snow.

He wasn’t happy about it. “You coulda said something!”

Jesse narrowed her eyes at him struggling to get out of his hold. “I just want to sleep!”

Aiden tightened his grip on her; his eyes fiery with a glare. “ _You_ can’t stay upright. So next time, _ask for help_.” he retorted. Jesse scrunched her nose before giving up and nodding. Aiden helped her to the front seat and got in the passenger. He didn’t speak and neither did she. Ivor, Harper, and Soren were already asleep in the back.

Jesse watched the sky and said a silent prayer for her mother and father’s safety and health before she drifted off to sleep.

_Hoping she’d wake up and none of this would be real._


	2. Waiting Around to Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A world-building chapter. We meet some new characters and learn about the world surrounding this AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to clarify while this does have elements and tie-ins to the Wintermute narrative for The Long Dark; it is very different and I am playing with this setting and these characters as I see fit.
> 
> *

** Warnings: Mentioned Violence, Blood, and Swearing **

 

 

 

 

> _“He knelt among the shadows and felt his isolation bitterly. They were savages, it was true; but they were human.” — William Golding; The Lord of the Flies_

 

_“Aiden, you promised!”_

_“Maya, it’s just another day,” Aiden moved the curtain and gazed out his window. It didn’t usually snow this hard in Champion City this time of year. He supposed they got the run off of one of the bad blizzards that frequented the mountain towns. The recent earthquakes were another reason for the delayed flights, but they weren’t as worrisome as this sudden blizzard. “Planes won’t be taking off in this shitty weather. I’ll be there by tomorrow evening.”_

_“You mean it?”_

_“Yes, Miles,” Aiden sighed through his nose. “If the weather let’s up, I will be.”_

_“Okay.” Maya sounded sad. She always did lately. ”I love you.”_

_“I love you, too, sissy.” Aiden replied, frowning. “Talk to you soon.”_

_“Bye.”_

_“Buh-bye.”_

_Aiden hung up his phone and sat it on the side table near him. He grimaced out at the storm, silently cursing and wishing it away. He hadn’t been doing well, money-wise. He didn’t think anyone was. After the recent recession, it was hard to save up enough to get the plane tickets. He had gotten them, though. And he didn’t plan on letting some storm keep him from visiting his family. As soon as it let up even a little, he was going. He didn’t care how Cassie felt._

_“Was that Maya?”_

_Aiden dropped the curtain and turned to his cousin. He crossed his arms. “Yeah. She’s getting impatient.”_

_“She’s just like her brother.”_

_Aiden scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not that impatient.”_

_Cassie eyed him warily pressing her lips into a thin line “Mm-hm. Definitely.”_

_Aiden swatted at the girl’s arm. “Shut up! I am not.”_

_“Aiden, please,” Cassie said laughing. “you can’t wait for anything.” She turned and started towards his kitchen. Aiden came after her._

_“Name **one** time!”_

 

* * *

 

_Aiden was tackled at the door of his parent’s house; Maya hugging him so tight he almost couldn’t breathe._

_“Hey, Miles.” He managed. The girl pressed her face into his shoulder._

_“I missed you like crazy!”_

_“I missed you too.”_

_Aiden really had missed his younger sister. (she wasn’t much younger; about three years) He’d missed his whole family. It’d been a good two years since he finished high school and moved out to Champion City to study creative writing. As he expected, he ended up needing to pick up a job and somehow managed to land a manager role at the local convenience store. It paid pretty well until the recession. He was lucky he had saved up as much as he did. Not that Cassie and he hadn’t put their money together to buy both their tickets. He’d been able to pay for three-fourths of his. Cassie kindly lending him the rest of the money. Sometimes he wondered if she lied about hating him._

_“Can you two blockheads get outta the way? I’d like not to be next to Aiden for **the next four days**.”_

_And, then again, he didn’t._

_He released his sister and straightened up, sending his cousin a glare._

_“Cassie!!” Maya jumped the girl and Aiden grinned. Cassie nearly fell over, her luggage toppling to the side._

_“Oof.” She embraced the smaller girl back, meeting Aiden’s gaze and narrowing her eyes. “Hey, cuz.”_

_“It’s been forever!” Maya pulled back and beamed. “Did you end up getting the job with the hockey team?”_

_“Yep!” Cassie said leaning over to reset her luggage. “I did.”_

_Aiden rolled his eyes and shook his head turning back to the door to head inside. His mother stood in his way. She smiled up at him warmly. Her arms crossed around her middle._

_“Mom…”_

_His mother was quick to envelop him in her arms holding tighter than Maya had. Aiden sunk into his mother’s hold. It had been far too long since he’d seen her. His mother pulled him back after a moment and cupped his face in her hands. She always looked at him so proudly; like he was the best thing ever. Immediately, Aiden realized what the woman was up to, but just a tad too late. She pulled him down and littered his face in kisses._

_He groaned, pulling back. “ **Mom** ,” he wiped his face and scrunched his nose._

_“Ellie, quit covering the boy’s face with lipstick.”_

_Aiden grinned at his father. Momentarily forgetting about the assault his mother had just given his face as he made to hug the shorter man. “Dad…”_

_“Hey, bud.”_

_Aiden pulled back and his father placed a hand on his shoulder looking him over before chuckling. “I’m not kidding, though, your mother **covered** your face in lipstick.”_

_Aiden grimaced and brought his hand up to his face. His fingers came away wine red, just like his mother’s lipstick._

_“ **MOM** ,”_

_“I wanna see!” Maya announced before grabbing him by the wrist and spinning him around. She immediately started giggling._

_“Oh my god…” Cassie said putting her hand over her mouth to block her own giggles. Aiden glared as his face burned all the way up to his ears._

_“Shut up!” he barked. “Both of you!”_

_He spun on his heel and marched passed his parents and to the downstairs bathroom. He could hear them all laughing at him; not even the tap could drown them out._

_Once his face was devoid of lipstick, he made his way to the couch and sat down; arm’s crossed. His mother and sister joined him. His father collapsed into his favorite recliner. Cassie sat on the loveseat. His mother pulled him into another hug from the side._

_“I missed you so much, my little flame.”_

_Aiden huffed and hugged his mother back. She pulled away again and beamed. Aiden mirrored her smile. “So,” he looked about a moment. “Is aunt Isa not here?”_

_“Nope!” his father said cheerfully. “And I’m glad!”_

_“Magnus!” his mother chided. Aiden couldn’t help but grin. His father and aunt had been at odds for as long as he could remember. He was just too loud for Isa’s tastes, Aiden supposed._

_“What?” his father said. “I am! Woman’s always getting on my case about something. You’re lucky I’m letting your **dear sister Isabelle** stay!”_

_His mother rolled her eyes. Aiden couldn’t help but snicker. Maya and Cassie joined in._

_“Do you guys have enough room?” Aiden’s smile thinned. “I can—”_

_“No,” his mother said firmly. “You’re staying. We still haven’t touched your room. You can sleep there,” Aiden nodded. He wasn’t one to argue with his mother. “Isa and Milo can take the basement guest room.”_

_“And Cassie?” Aiden asked._

_“She and her mother can stay in Maya’s room.”_

_That settled that. Aiden watched the weather report and frowned. They were forecasting a blizzard. A huge blizzard._

_“Oh!” Maya exclaimed, pushing herself up from her chair. ”I promised Lukas I’d call him when you got here!” and with that Maya took off up the stairs. Aiden smiled bemusedly at his sister shaking his head. Cassie got up too._

_“I’m gonna put my stuff upstairs.” The girl said before grabbing her luggage she left at the door and heading upstairs. His mother put her hand atop his._

_“Why don’t you go put your stuff upstairs and get changed?” she said. “your aunt will be here soon.”_

_Aiden nodded. “Okay.”_

_He rose up from the couch, kissed his mother’s cheek, grabbed his luggage, and headed up the stairs._

 

* * *

 

 

_So, aunt Isa and uncle Milo had shown up and Aiden narrowly escaped another attack of lipstick. Milo was complaining about bad business at the Inn; mentioned that he might have to close it up if things kept going the way they did. Cassie’s mother, aunt Nadia, showed up after. They had takeout for dinner and the first real argument broke-out (It wouldn’t be a Martell family gathering without at least one of those) between his father and aunt Isa. Something about his father’s ‘table manners’._

_They gathered in the living room after to watch a movie. Some family-friendly thing that Aiden actually ended up enjoying, somewhat. After that they all started to head to bed one-by-one until Aiden was the only one left. Watching the late-night weather forecast. The blizzard was heading right for Oak Creek, coming from Tundra Heights. Another report on the collapsed tunnel was scheduled for after. Aiden turned off the TV and rubbed at his eyes. He needed to stop fretting over some dumb storm and just go to bed. The Green Valley always got severe winter storms like this, especially up in the mountains, and the earthquakes were just that. Earthquakes. They’d happened before. They’d happen again._

_Still though, something ate at him, even as he made his way upstairs. On his way to his room, he passed his mother’s office. His father was sitting at the desk papers strewn along its surface. His mother standing behind him, her hand on his shoulder. They were talking quietly._

_Aiden, always a bit **too** nosy, stepped in_. _“You guys okay?”_

_His mother and father turned to him with wide eyes. And he came closer to the desk. Bills. Just as he’d thought. He frowned. “Is it that bad?”_

_“They’re threatenin’ to take the house,” His father replied looking up at him wearily from his reading glasses. “so, it’s pretty bad.”_

_“You don’t need to worry about this, Aiden.” his mother said, waving him off, “Go to bed, sweetie.”_

_Aiden frowned, but nodded, turning on his heel to leave his mother and father in peace. It had been months since he slept in his room. The bed was just as he remembered it, well, except for the sheets. He’d taken those with him to Champion City. None of his posters were up, either, he’d taken those too. Even without those though, it was still his room. Probably always would be._

_Unless his parents lost the house. Then it would be someone else’s._

_He turned on his side pulling the blanket over himself. He chose then not to worry about storms or earthquakes or even money troubles. It was rare the Martell family got together and he wanted to enjoy it._

He wishes he had enjoyed it more.

 

* * *

 

It was _freezing_.

The snow that fell gently stuck to Aiden’s clothes and hair. He didn’t know what else he had expected from late November. It was frigid in the Green Valley right up until early May. Sure, Oak Creek was cold, but it was somehow colder here on the other side of the mountains. Having only a hoodie to protect him from the occasional gusts of wind might have been the reason he was nearly a human popsicle.

He huffed. _What a mess._

It had been decided that Aiden, Em [the name of the bulky brunette; her girlfriend, Nell, had almost made a scene about her coming], Harper, and Radar were the best for this scavenging trip. Aiden hadn’t cared either way. The excuse to get away from the plane crash was a welcome one. When back at camp, he could only think about poor Cassie. About how they pulled him away without even letting him try to help her. Without telling him why she couldn’t come with. Out here, it was so cold it made his head thick and his fingers numb. Thoughts about her came slower and he was more worried about freezing. He’d spent most of last night crying over the loss of his cousin. They had picked on each other, but she had been the closest person Aiden had in his life when he moved to Champion City. She was almost more like a sister.

His throat tightened and he shook his head, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from coming.

_It just wasn’t fair._

“ _Look_ ,” Radar shouted, pointing ahead of them, “smoke!”

They stopped, looking up. There was smoke and a lot of it. Not something that would have come from just one fire but multiple. Aiden could smell it, and the familiar musk of burning wood, from here

“We must be close,” Harper said gesturing them to continue. “a little farther.”

The road was barely visible under the thick blanket of snow. Only small bits of the asphalt showing through; what did was cracked, tufts of dead grass growing in-between. This place hadn’t had proper maintenance in a long time; probably since the tunnel collapsed. The smoke got thicker as they got closer to the supposed town. It stung Aiden’s eyes and made him cough. It became clear why once they made it over the hill.

 _The town had been on fire_.

The buildings were still smoldering; most had caved in on themselves. The ones that hadn’t been on fire were either boarded up or their doors were left wide open. There was only one house that looked untouched. It sat there on an incline; smoke rising from its chimney.

Harper cupped her hand over her mouth, brow shooting up in horror. “What happened here?!”

“A riot?” Em replied pushing her hands into her jacket pockets and grimacing. “Those tend to go down when shit hits the fan.”

Aiden frowned. _Those happen in cities; not small nowhere towns_.

”Should we even go in for help?” Radar asked. He looked as jumpy as the rest of them felt. It was a gamble. They either go in, find out what happened, maybe get supplies… or don’t and face complications back at camp.

“We don’t have a choice,” Harper said her hand falling to her side. “we need the supplies. And if there’s none here maybe someone knows where to find ‘em.”

Aiden didn’t like this, but he followed after the others. They had to walk through with their arms over their nose and mouth’s. The smoke far too thick. The house they were heading for was the largest one in the small village. It looked regal compared to the rest of the, what Aiden would call, rundown shacks. Once upon the porch, it was hard to decide whether to knock or walk in. Aiden made the decision to just walk in. And the others followed after him.

The house was dark. The front door lead into the living room to the right and the kitchen to the left. Furniture had been pushed up against the stairs but had recently been moved. The fireplace took the center of the living room. A sofa sat in front of it. A coffee table between it and the fireplace. There was a mug of something sitting on it; steam rolling off it into the air. It smelt like coffee.

Those were the only signs of life in the house. Aiden grew tense. _Where was the person who had lit the fire? Made the coffee?_

There was a sound behind them, a creak of floor boards, and before they could turn something was shot at them. Aiden felt the air of it as it flew past his temple. Lodging into the far wall of the living room. His heartrate jumped into his throat and pounded in his ears. He was pulled to the side by someone, he couldn’t tell who, was too concerned with how close he had come to dying.

He got a look at the woman who had shot. Her hair was black but had an almost purple tint. She was older, definitely, the lines in her face telling of that. Her skin was pale. She wore a navy-blue dress shirt and black slacks. The crossbow in her hands was pointed directly at Aiden. Her eyes cold and hard.

“ _Who are you_?”

“Miss, just—” Harper took a half step forward and the woman pointed the crossbow at her head.

 _“Get back,”_ The woman snarled _. “Who **are** you_?! _Answer me_!”

Harper stepped back, hands raised. Aiden was shaking now. “We’re—we’re just some people from up the road. Me and my husband’s car died and then a plane crashed. We came looking for help.”

“There isn’t any help here,” The woman said gruffly. She lowered the crossbow just slightly. “not anymore anyway.”

“What do you mean _not anymore_?” Harper asked her hands lowering slowly. The woman realigned her crossbow with Harper’s head, the grey-haired woman rose her hands again, and Aiden pressed his back into the wall behind him.

 _This woman was terrifying_.

“Most everyone left after the storm took out the power,” The woman watched Harper cautiously. “And after last night? Even more.”

“What happened last night?” Harper pressed. She didn’t make to lower her hands this time.

The woman frowned and lowered the crossbow. Harper dropped her hands. Aiden could finally breathe. “S _omething_ happened. A prison bus not too far stopped…” the woman shut her eyes. “the prisoners got loose. They wreaked havoc on everything. Sat the town ablaze. I tried to get away, but my car wouldn’t start,” She paused and shook her head. “They came for me. And I managed to get up to my bathroom and hide in the linen closet.”

“Oh my god…” Harper murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

The woman just shook her head. “They took a lot of the supplies we had left. You aren’t getting any from here, if that’s what you’re looking for. I don’t have any to spare. You’re free to look around though.”

“That’s alright…” Harper trailed off awaiting the woman to give her her name.

“Xara,” The woman said, finally setting her crossbow down on the dining table behind her. “and you?”

“Harper. And this is Aiden, Em, and Radar.”

Xara looked upon Aiden and frowned. “I’m sorry I shot at you. It’s been a rough night.”

Aiden swallowed thickly and nodded. His frame was still trembling. “It’s all good.” He stuttered, “Probably shoulda just knocked.”

Xara gave a weak smile. “I woulda shot either way.”

“You said the others left,” Radar interjected. “where’d they go?”

Xara crossed her arms, looking down at her leather dress shoes. “I assume towards the coast, up near Beacontown. That’s where they told us to go if there was another emergency.”

“That’s so far,” Em said, her brow furrowing. “especially on foot.”

“They wanted to go,” Xara replied. Her lips tilted downward in a deep frown. “I wasn’t going to stop them.”

“And you didn’t?” Aiden asked. He didn’t get it. He would have made off with the first group. Hell, he probably would have led it.

“I was waiting for my husband,” Xara said, frown deepening. “he still hasn’t come back.”

Aiden bowed his head. _That’s rough_.

“You said there isn’t any supplies left,” Harper said, taking a measured step towards the woman. “Anywhere we could look?”

Xara pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed. “The old general store maybe? It’s over by the tunnel. I’m not sure how much would be left, but it’s your best bet.”

“Okay,” Harper said; sparing the other woman a grateful smile. “We’ll check there. Maybe bring you back some things too?”

Xara blinked. “Would you? I’ve only got so much left…”

“Of course,” Harper said. She turned to Aiden, Radar, and Em. “we should—"

“Could,” Xara’s voice rose a hair. And Harper turned to her. Xara looked a million things. Her eyes almost wild with desperation. “While you’re out there… could… could you look for my husband?”

Harper didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Of course. Do you have a picture?”

Xara nodded and reached into the pocket of her slacks, pulling out her wallet before fishing out a worn picture. “Here,” she handed it to her. “His name’s Gordon. Gordon Mackenzie”

“Okay,” Harper replied pocketing the picture. “We’ll look and come back if we find him.”

“Thank you,” Xara’s voice was stilted and thick. “You don’t know how much this means.”

Harper nodded. Aiden knew she probably understood the woman’s pain far more than any of them did. “You’re welcome.”

 

* * *

  

Xara had given them four spare backpacks [she was an avid hiker in her youth]. _I don’t need much,_ she had said, _just a little extra would be good._ The snow had begun to fall harder; the wind gusts more violent than before. Aiden was freezing by the time they got there.

The general store was old. A brick building with a tin roof. [Probably had been there since the town’s founding] _Fred’s General Goods,_ the sign at the front said; the lettering had been repainted recently. A good two weeks or so ago. There was another sign, cardboard; the message written out in marker, taped to the front window:

**Take what you need and God bless.**

It was your average run-of-the-mill general store, _if it had been ransacked_. The floor was littered with food packages and canned goods, water bottles, papers, money, matches, glass, and clothes. The iron shelves that lined the walls and stood in the middle nearly picked clean. The vending machines broken open. Aiden huffed, _Typical, everything goes to hell and people go crazy._

“We should split up,” Harper said as she observed the store. It was far larger than the outside suggested. “grab as much as we can.”

Aiden was assigned to the back. He grabbed anything that wasn’t broken or already opened; beef jerky, canned peaches, pork and beans, tomato soup, chicken soup, chips, bottled sodas, bottled water. It wouldn’t last long, but it would keep them alive for a while. He scoured the back shelves, grabbing a red cotton scarf and wrapping it around his neck. Then he stooped down and searched under the shelves; reaching with his hand—it met something solid. He slid it out from under the shelving unit and smirked.

A carton of cigarettes. _Unopened_. He pushed it into the front pocket of the backpack and continued. His foot hit a first aid box that had been torn off the wall. He knelt and unlatched it. Disinfectant, gauze, bandages, pain killers… a standard first aid kit. Aiden swung the pack off his shoulder and stuffed the medical supplies in. Harper would be happy.

As he swung the resealed pack over his shoulder, he caught sight of something odd. A smeared trail of red leading into the back. _Was that… Blood_? He swallowed against the tightening of his throat as he rose to his feet. He followed the trail to a back office and hesitated, a million awful things racing through his head, before he pulled the door open.

Someone groaned from inside. The voice sounded male. Aiden leaned in and found the source of the noise. A man lying on his back in front of the desk. He was pale skinned and balding. His white night shirt stained scarlet, grey sweats ripped at the knees. His hand was gripped to his right side and trembled violently. Aiden blinked down at him, his stomach sinking. The man looked up at him with glassy eyes, reaching for him.

“Help… me… _please_ …”

Aiden turned on his heel, swiftly, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Guys, there’s someone back here!”

The others came running to him; Harper leading. The woman swept past Aiden and knelt by the man, placing her hand near the wound and inspecting it. Then she observed the man for a long moment.

 “Is your name Gordon Mackenzie?” Harper asked. Aiden’s brows shot up. _Was this Xara’s husband?_

‘Gordon’ nodded, his eyes fluttering closed as he grimaced. “How… did…”

“Your wife wanted us to look for you.” Harper answered. She moved the man’s hand away from the wound pushing his shirt up just enough to reveal the short and deep [Like that of a knife’s blade] wound. Aiden winced. Blood was oozing from the wound steadily.

“My wife,” Gordon’s face scrunched in pain. “she’s…”

“Okay,” Harper answered, gently rolling Gordon’s shirt back down. And pressing her left hand into his side gently. “Your wife is okay.”

“That’s… good…”

Harper turned to them and gestured to the man. “He needs medical attention, now! We should get him back to Xara. Aiden! Em! Help me get him up. And watch his side.”

Aiden came to the man’s right side; watching his every move to be sure he didn’t bump the wound. Em took his other and they heaved him up. Gordon yelped.

“Damn… that’s smarts,” Gordon groaned gripping his side. “If I see that man… ever again… I’m gonna have a few… choice words… to throw at him.”

They carried him across the store and out the doors. The storm outside had grown and the wind resistance made it hard to get up the road that led back to town. The snow pelted them at an alarming rate and Aiden was shivering violently by the time they got up to Xara’s house. Em opened the door and they hauled Gordon inside. Xara rushed down the stairs just as Aiden and Em sat Gordon down. She screamed.

“Oh my god! Gordon!”

She ran to his side taking his hand. Gordon squeezed hers back weakly, trying to manage a smile for his wife that turned into a grimace.

“Was it one of them?” Xara asked. Her voice trembled.

Gordon nodded. “Damn… bastard… Johnson.”

Xara brought his fingers to her lips and turned to Harper. Her eyes were glazed over. They reminded Aiden of his mothers. He bowed his head and swallowed against the ball forming in his throat.

“Can you help him?” Xara said. Her eyes looked desperate; akin to those of someone who was about to lose everything.

“Yes,” Harper replied coming closer to the couple. “I’m gonna need you to move away.”

Xara hesitated a moment, looking upon her husband, before nodding and releasing his hand. Harper knelt by Gordon’s side and examined his wound once again.

“Aiden,” Harper said, reaching back and snapping her fingers, “I need your bag.”

Aiden nodded and shrugged the pack off his shoulders, dropping it at the woman’s side. Harper unzipped it with ease and sifted through it before fishing out a bundle of bandages and the bottle of disinfectant. She unscrewed the cap of the disinfectant before gently pouring it over the mans wound. It bubbled. Aiden had to look away.

“Okay, Gordon,” Harper said gently. “I’m gonna need to sit you up so I can get this bandaged,” Harper looked over her shoulder and pointed at Em. “Help me get him up.”

Em strode over and helped sit Gordon up. The man hissed in pain. Xara looked about ready to stop them. Harper grabbed the gauze pressing it against the wound and then reached for the bandages wrapping it around the gauze and wound securely. They settled Gordon back down. And Xara was by him again; taking his hand between both of her own.

“You’re gonna be okay.” She whimpered and then continued to murmur it as she rested her forehead against their hands. Aiden frowned deeply. _If they hadn’t come…_

“You three,” Harper said in a whisper. She gestured to the kitchen. “c’mere.”

Aiden, Radar, and Em shared a look before following Harper. Xara’s kitchen reminded Aiden of the one in his parent’s house. Old-fashioned, circa the 1970s, and a dining table pushed up against the wall.

“I need you three to go get Ivor,” Harper urged. She looked grim. “He needs stitches and I’m no good with those.”

Aiden blinked at the woman incredulously gesturing to the window. “That storm is _awful_. We can’t…” Harper gave him a pointed look—one that reminded him of his aunt—and he shut up, crossing his arm about his middle, looking back out the window at the raging storm.

“I know that,” The ‘but’ there was almost palpable. “However, the others shouldn’t be out in this storm anyway. Get Ivor, and them, and bring ‘em back here. _Okay_?”

Aiden grimaced. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all. It was almost a full-blown whiteout outside. They could get lost. Or jumped by those prisoners. He didn’t speak up though because Harper was right about one thing:

The others needed brought back here.

 

* * *

 

The storm had fizzled as quickly as it had blown in, leaving nothing but a bitter wind in its wake. They got back to the camp site quickly. The others had been packed into the back of Soren’s truck. Ivor nearly had a heart attack when they came up to them without Harper. Aiden explained the situation and they headed off without another word. Aiden having been assigned to helping the Jesse girl walk.

She was doing better which, from what Ivor was saying, was good. Meant her head injury wasn’t serious. She just needed someone to keep her steady. Aiden wasn’t happy about it. Mostly because she _just kept trying to make conversation_. Like they were friends. Like they weren’t just people who had gotten stuck together. He didn’t snap at her though. He’d come close, but she eventually took his blatant hints. And the rest of the trek was bearable.

Once the group made it back to the town, they went to Xara’s house and Ivor stitched and redressed Gordon’s wound. Xara was surprisingly accommodating. Telling them they could stay there and that it was the least she could do for them after they helped her husband. They moved Gordon up to his and Xara’s room. And Ivor and Harper took the spare guest room with the double bed. Jody and Henry took the one with the single. And the rest of them were told to find a spot downstairs.

Aiden was too anxious to sleep. So, he just sat at Xara’s dining table with a candle burning. It made odd shadows on the wall. Jagged angles and shapes dancing forlornly with the flicker of the flame. They were better to look at then dwelling on their screwed situation. This house was quiet in the worst kind of way. It made Aiden feel lonely. This whole town made him feel lonely. It was isolated. A desolate mountain town that hardly anyone lived in anymore. Aiden couldn’t see how anyone could enjoy the quiet enough to stay. (Unless, of course, they were too poor to leave) He loved the loud robustness of the city. He missed it.

“Oh, you’re up?”

Aiden turned in his chair and huffed. Jesse frowned at him as she crossed her arms.

“Yeah.” He grumbled.

Jesse nodded and strode past. She touched the chair to his left. “Can I—?”

Aiden scrunched his noes and took a deep breath in. He didn’t know why Jesse’s presence rubbed him the wrong way; why she annoyed him so much. She was a nice girl. None of what happened was her fault either, but he was so angry with her. Maybe it was because she just kept trying to make conversation. Her eyes held such pity for him and what he’d lost and he hated it. He hated how much he trusted those eyes of hers. How placating her presence was.

“Look,” she began as she settled herself into the chair. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I really am sorry about your cousin.”

Aiden‘s scowl softened and he sighed, bowing his head. “Why do you care?”

“Because I know how it feels to lose someone close to you,” She replied; pain blossomed in her usually warm brown eyes. “My uncle died in a mining accident when I was 5. We were pretty close, and it was tough.”

Aiden sighed and screwed his eyes shut. _Cassie was different_. “She was more like a sister than a cousin.” he said. “We were together all the time. Went to school together. Graduated together. Moved to Champion City together.”

Jesse smiled faintly. “She seemed like a great person.”

Aiden’s frown deepened. “She was. Loved cats. Had five calicos.”

Jesse snickered, that warmth back in those eyes of hers. “Five?”

Aiden shrugged. “She loved them, and I like cats, so it didn’t bother me.”

Jesse’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Did she have an _Instagram_ for them?”

Aiden snickered. “You know it.”

A companionable silence stretched between them. Aiden continued to watch the shadows on the wall. Jesse drummed her fingers against the table top. It was the most peaceful moment Aiden had had in the past 36 hours.

“What are we going to do?”

Aiden looked over at Jesse and shrugged. “I guess stay here awhile. See how this goes. We have enough supplies.”

“Hope for help?” Jesse suggested. Aiden shook his head.

“There is no help,” He said. And there wasn’t. If the lights in the sky had really killed the power; if what Soren said was right. And this all hadn’t been a freak coincidence. Help wasn’t coming. _It never would_. _No one cared enough about the Green Valley for that._ “We’re just waiting around to die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!!


	3. 14 Days Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Jesse tries to befriend a very closed-off Aiden. And succeeds. Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter!!! I'm actually getting really excited cuz this is like my Segway chapter of sorts. I can REALLY start building the story now. Enjoy!!
> 
> *

** Warnings: Swearing **

 

> _“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” — Friedrich Nietzsche_

 

_Two weeks since **The Event**_

There was something peaceful about Xara’s house. Something calm about the quiet that stretched its two-story expanse. But also something harrowing. So much history had been witnessed by these withering walls. Good and awful, Jesse was sure. You could almost hear it all screaming through the raptors. Then again, that might have been the wind. It had been howling since the early morning hours before snow began to pelt the ground. A blizzard blowing in and stalling any discussion of going out and looking for more supplies. For help.

The setting sun casted the living room in a warm glow; the fire burning in the fireplace only added to the room’s coziness. Jesse sat on the couch next to Em and Nell who were nestled together. Henry, Radar and Jody sat opposite them on the floor playing some form of game. Ivor, Harper, and Soren stood by the window talking softly. Gordon sat in the rocking chair in the corner; Xara by his side. And Aiden sat away from them all in the dining room.

[He did that quite often. Sat alone. Jesse had thought after that first night that maybe, just maybe, he would warm up to them—to her. But he was as closed off as ever. Always turning down any of her attempts to make conversation. Jesse had finally decided to just leave him alone. She had seen him unguarded for a moment. She’d probably never see it again.]

They were always like this, separate, hardly ever speaking to one another. They _needed_ to talk to each other though. If they were in this for the long run, they needed to get to know each other. If only to make things easier.

Jesse cleared her throat and stood. Everyone looked at her and her courage began to fizzle. “I—” she looked over at Aiden, he was scowling at her, she almost decided to sit back down. “let’s play a game.”

Henry perked up, his bright eyes beaming up at her. “Yeah, all of us together!” his smile softened. “what kind of game?”

“I was thinking maybe Monopoly?” Jesse looked over at Xara and Gordon. “I found it in the closet upstairs.”

Xara smiled fondly, a distant look in her eyes as she took Gordon’s hand. “Haven’t played that in a long time.”

Gordon smiled back at his wife. They both looked a little sad.

Jesse grimaced sensing a history there. “I mean we don’t have—”

“No,” Xara interjected. “that sounds like fun. There’s a few too many people, but we could pair up?”

“It does sound like a lot of fun, dudes.” Nell said lifting her head from Em’s shoulder. “Me and Em played this game a lot. I lost a lot, but together we’ll be an unstoppable force. So, watch out.”

Em snorted nudging her girlfriend. “Shut up.”

Xara started towards the stairs. “I’ll go get the board.”

Jesse watched, beaming, as the woman ascended before turning to the others again. “So, Em and Nell are together. Who else? We need six teams.”

“I wanna be with momma!” Henry exclaimed grabbing his mother’s arm.

Radar scrunched his nose. “What if I wanna be with mom?”

“We can both be with momma!” Henry replied grabbing his brother’s hand and yanking him toward them. Radar fell sideways into them, laughing.

Jesse laughed at the boy. It was nice to have a child around. It injected a much-needed joy into everything. “Okay, that’s two teams.”

“Ivor, Soren and I can be together.” Harper said. Ivor sighed in relief.

“That’d be favorable,” Ivor said, sending Soren a dirty look. “At least then _Soren_ can’t cheat.”

Soren looked wounded, putting a hand against his chest. “I have _never_!”

Ivor rolled his eyes. “You keep telling yourself that, Soren.”

Jesse couldn’t help but giggle, shaking her head. “So—"

“Gordon and I can be together.” Xara said as she came back down the stairs, setting the board game down on the coffee table. “We make a pretty good team.”

Gordon gave his wife a smile as he pushed himself up off the rocking chair. Xara quickly at his side. “Haven’t we always?”

Jesse smiled warmly at the duo. They were always like that. Affectionate and so in-love. It reminded Jesse of her mother and father. Jesse shook away the thought before it could ruin her mood. “That just leaves me—”

“And Aiden!” Henry exclaimed. Jesse frowned and looked over at the young male. Aiden was already watching them; his features pulled into a deep frown.

“No,” he said. “I’m good.”

Jesse sighed and crossed her arms. _It was just a game. They didn’t need to talk._ “Oh, _c’mon_ , Aiden, let’s—”

“ _I said **no**_!”

Jesse jumped at the sharpness of Aiden’s voice and bowed her head, turning back to the others. Xara and Gordon paused in moving the rocking chair closer; they all looked at Aiden wide-eyed. Henry moved closer to his mother pulling her down.

“He’s mean.” he whispered, moving back and sending a dirty look Aiden’s way.

Jody frowned and placed a hand atop the boys. “He lost someone he loved. It’s hard for someone to feel good when that happens. Remember how you felt when daddy died?”

Jesse’s chest tightened. _Losing someone close when you are young was awful._

The boy frowned up at his mother and nodded, looking over at Aiden again. His expression softer. Jesse glanced over her shoulder. Aiden was hunched in on himself; fingers tangled in his hair, elbows pressing into the table. She felt a pang of sympathy for him as she turned away.

“I’ll just be alone, then.”

“I’ll be your partner,” Radar said pushing his glasses up and giving her a warm smile. “It wouldn’t be fair if we were all partnered up and you didn’t have one.”

Jesse smiled at Radar. “Okay… Who wants to be banker?”

The game was every bit as fun as Jesse had thought it would be. And served the purpose of helping them all get to know each other a bit better. They learned that Jody was a schoolteacher and that Henry was in her second-grade class. And that Radar was just starting high school. Ivor and Harper told a story about their wedding. Xara and Gordon recounted when they bought the house. They learned Xara was a lawyer and Gordon was a prison warden. Em and Nell had beaten everyone. Ivor, Harper, and Soren being the first to go bankrupt and then Jesse. They played until they were forced to start lighting candles. And a little after. Poor Henry had fallen asleep.

It was quiet now. Most everyone having gone upstairs or fallen asleep somewhere in the living room. Jesse laid on a makeshift bed that had been laid out for her by Jody. The older woman always laid a bed out for Jesse. The sentiment was not wasted on her either. She thanked Jody every night. It was dark, except for the dim flickering light that came from the kitchen. Aiden was still in there. He spent most nights in there. Alone. Staring at the wall. Jesse tried to strike up conversation with him like she had the first night, but he wasn’t as open to it. He let her keep him company though. Or, well, didn’t complain when she did. (although his scowl and glower were a silent protest enough to keep her from talking which was also what drove her away)

 She turned on her side so she could look into the kitchen. Aiden’s back was to her, his head leant into his right palm, fingers drumming against the table top. She wondered what he thought about as he sat there. Wondered why he sat there. Why he never let anyone talk to him. Jesse sighed and turned over again, so she wasn’t facing him, and instead looked on into the living room. It’d probably be best to leave him alone. She pulled her blanket tight around herself. And slowly drifted off.

 _Maybe tonight she’d have no nightmares_.

 

* * *

 

She awoke to the smell of something sweet and the sound of voices chatting happily. She sat up blinking and then rubbed at her eyes. Looking around, she was surprised to find no one else was asleep. Jody and Ivor were the only one’s in the room both of them reading. She heard a shriek and then laughter. Radar and Henry were already up? She never slept later than Henry and Radar.

“You guys let me sleep in?” she asked stretching her arms over her head and taking in a deep breath.

Jody smiled at her from the couch, tipping the book in hand to look upon her. “You looked like you were sleepin’ so well. We didn’t wanna bother you.”

Jesse furrowed her brow and nodded. Her stomach gave a winded groan. “What smells so good?”

“Xara is making her ‘world-famous pancakes’,” Ivor said, shifting in the rocking chair. “we’ll see if they live up to the name.”

“Pancakes?” Jesse’s stomach gave another whine. “That sounds amazing.”

“Doesn’t it?” Jody said with a dreamy hum.

“Alright! It’s done!” Gordon shouted from the kitchen. “C’mon, everybody!”

They all crowded into the kitchen. Xara and Aiden were serving. Jesse was sent out to the living room to eat at, what she would deem, the kids table. Aiden was too. Radar and Henry were good company though. So, Jesse had no arguments. Aiden was less so, keeping quiet most of the meal, but he didn’t seem _displeased_ with the seating situation. Jesse listened to story after story that Henry told her. Talked with him about his favorite animals and games. Her and Radar discussed their epic loss at Monopoly the night before. Jesse was surprised when Aiden laughed at their recount. _She’d never heard him laugh before._

“Can we play another game?” Henry asked pushing his empty plate away from himself. Jesse smiled at him as she sat her silverware down on her own plate and stacked her’s and Henry’s together.

“Sure!” she said. “Maybe we can see if Xara or Gordon have a deck of cards?”

“We could play _go fish_!” Henry shouted as he jumped up starting for the kitchen. “I’m gonna go ask!”

Jesse laughed and watched the boy rush into the kitchen; her chest warm with affection. “He’s such a cute little guy.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen him be a brat,” Radar huffed, leaning back on his hands, scowling. “He really likes you though.”

“Yeah?” Jesse replied, looking over her shoulder to where the young boy had disappeared.

Radar nodded. “Yeah, he does.”

Aiden got up from the table and began to clean up the plates. Jesse pushed herself up, attempting to help him. Aiden stopped her.

“I got it.” He said right as Henry ran out of the kitchen waving the deck of cards in hand.

“They had cards!” the boy said sitting down at the coffee table again. Jesse smiled down at him before looking back up at Aiden, frowning.

“You sure?”

Aiden nodded and took the plate from her, heading toward the kitchen.

“You’re gonna play too, right Radar?” Henry said. Jesse looked down at the two boys and settled herself back on the floor. Radar shook his head.

“Not right now. I’m gonna help with the dishes,” He pushed himself forward onto his knees and ruffled his brother’s hair. “Maybe in a bit.”

Henry nodded and began to deal the cards between himself and Jesse. Radar got up and headed for the kitchen. Jesse picked up her cards.

“You got seven, right?” Henry asked, setting the remaining deck aside and picking up his own cards. Jesse gave her hand a quick count. _Seven_.

“Yep!”

“Okay, do you wanna go first?”

Jesse shook her head. “No. You go first.”

“But you’re a lady!” Henry exclaimed looking rather upset. “A lady should always go first!”

Jesse couldn’t help the affectionate smile curling her lips. “Okay. I’ll go first.”

Henry beamed.

“Hm,” Jesse examined her hand. “Do you have any fours?”

“Nope!” Henry exclaimed. “Go fish!”

Jesse lost to Henry five times before they decided to make paper airplanes. They were at the kitchen table now. Henry showing her all the folds required to make an airplane that would do _loop-de-loops_. The others were loitering about the house.

“You have to be sure to fold it here!” Henry said and he sounded so serious. “If you don’t, it won’t even fly!”

Jesse laughed at him and followed the fold he made exactly. “That wouldn’t be good!”

The boy shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t!”

Jesse smiled fondly at the boy as he began to make another fold and then showed it to her pointing to where it should be.

“Are you alright, dear?”

Jesse twisted in her seat. Jody was standing next to the couch Aiden was sat on; her back facing them. Aiden looked up from his book brows knitted together, lips tilting into a frown. “Um, please, don’t call me that.”

“Oh, sorry, habit.” Jesse could just see the woman’s motherly smile. “are you doing alright, though?”

“Yeah,” Aiden answered. The way he shifted uncomfortably in his seat had Jesse thinking otherwise. “I’m doing fine.”

“You’re sure?” Jody pressed. Her weight shifting to her left leg as her arms crossed.

Aiden nodded. “I’m sure.”

Jesse turned back to Henry and found the boy leaning to look past her. He frowned and then looked up at her curiously. “Do you think he’d want to make planes with us?”

Jesse frowned and shook her head. “I think it’s best we don’t bother him.”

Henry frowned in concern. “Does he not like planes? Planes are fun and make me happy!”

Jesse chuckled and shook her head. “I dunno. I think everyone likes planes.” Henry smiled at her, examining his half-finished plane a moment before looking back at Aiden. “He wants to be alone, Henry. So, we should let him be.”

“Momma says you shouldn’t be alone when your sad,” the boy said, frowning. “That you should be with your friends when your sad. That’s what always made me feel better after daddy died.” The boy paused and then looked up at her once again. “I think Aiden needs a friend.”

Jesse blinked, astonished, before looking behind her again. Aiden wasn’t reading anymore; just sitting there with the book in his lap staring at the fireplace. She felt that tug of sympathy again. She frowned and nodded decisively.

“I think he does too.”

 

* * *

 

A storm had blown in just before sunset. The type with high winds speeds and snow that pelted against the windows. It shook the house violently and made enough racket to induce a fitful sleep. Jesse blinked up at the ceiling. The flickering light of the candle seeped out of the kitchen. Jody had already went to check on Aiden. He had seemed in pretty low spirits. She offered to stay up with him. But Aiden brushed her off; saying he’d go to bed soon. That was a while ago. Jody was probably fast asleep upstairs now.

Jesse sat up. She wasn’t going to leave him alone tonight. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed the cards off the mantle. She was going to get him to talk, or at the very least forget, about what happen to Cassie.

He looked up at her as she entered. There was no scowl or glower tonight; he just looked tired. An exhaustion that was palpable and tugged at Jesse’s heart. She took the seat to the left of him and sat the cards down. Aiden was already shaking his head.

“Jesse,”

“Look,” Jesse said firmly, tapping the deck of cards. “I can’t sleep, and this has got to be better than staring at the wall. We don’t have to talk. We can just play.”

Aiden looked conflicted for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Fine. What game did you have in mind?”

Jesse grinned triumphantly. “War?”

Aiden’s lips quirked ever so slightly. “Alright.”

Jesse bounced in her seat, giddy, and shuffled the deck. She tapped it together afterward and dealt out the cards. They didn’t talk for the first few rounds. Aiden seemed to be getting smug; having won half of the declared wars. Jesse didn’t mind it. This was better than lying there and hoping she’d fall asleep.

Aiden surprised her though.

“So, what did you do for a living?” he asked as he reshuffled his spent cards, readying for the next round. Jesse did the same.

“I was a manager at Wintermute.” She answered. _Had been for the past four months. I had so many complimentary coats from the company it was ridiculous._

Aiden’s eyes widened. “That’s an _amazing_ job.”

“Yeah.” Jesse said, looking away bashfully. “I’m surprised they kept me around after the recession.”

“Musta needed you.” Aiden replied setting his first card down. Jesse sat her’s down next.

“What did you do for a living?” she asked.

Aiden sat down another card. “Helped run the 7/11 by my place.”

Jesse nodded and sat down her next card; they got a matching pair of fours and sat three cards face down before flipping the last one face up. Jesse won.

“Did you like your job?” Jesse asked. Aiden shrugged and rolled his shoulders.

“It was alright. Definitely wasn’t a manger position at Wintermute.” His smile was teasing and had Jesse smiling back.

“Um, did you have any pets?”

Aiden frowned as he sat down another card. “Not when I lived in Champion City, but before I left I had a pet snake named Bites.”

“Why didn’t you take him with?” Jesse asked stalling her next turn. Aiden frowned and Jesse connected the dots. “Don’t tell me he _died_?”

Aiden nodded and urged her with his hand to take her turn. “He died.”

Jesse frowned and took her turn.

“I had a pet pig named Reuben.” She said and couldn’t help but smile fondly. She had got to see Reuben before she left for Beacontown. He was doing great.

Aiden laughed and shook his head. “Of course, you did.”

“He got too big to be kept in the house.” Jesse continued. “And we sent him down to the no kill farm.”

Aiden’s smile—that had been prominent through their entire conversation—softened. “That’s good.”

They drifted into a companionable silence, continuing their game. Jesse thought on what she was going to say next for several turns before setting her cards to the side.

“Okay, um,” Aiden quirked a brow, tilting his head slightly. “I just wanted to say that… you’re not alone. And that we’re all here to listen… _I’m_ here to listen. We’re in this together now until we either find out what’s wrong or die.” Jesse paused, gauging his reaction. She couldn’t get a read on him. “So, if you wanna talk… just say so.”

Aiden’s lips tilted up momentarily before softening into frown. His brow knitted together; his eyes growing pained. “I haven’t been able to sleep.” He said after a long moment. “I can still hear her screaming in my dreams. Still feel the plane dropping from the sky.”

Jesse’s brow furrowed. _She wasn’t the only one_. “You get them too?”

He blinked at her, shifting in his seat. “You’ve been having nightmares?”

“Yeah.” Jesse said, laying her hands out on the table. “They aren’t _bad_ bad, but they do wake me up. I usually get back to sleep, though.”

Aiden screwed his eyes shut. “They’re _awful_. Sometimes I’m so close to almost saving her.”

“You couldn’t have saved her, Aiden.”

“I coulda tried.”

“No,” Jesse reached out, hesitantly setting her hand atop Aiden’s. “Cassie’s death isn’t on you. It isn’t on anyone.”

Aiden’s eyes darted away as he blinked rapidly. His breath hitching. “I know you’re right. I just—” Jesse hated the way his voice cracked. “I wish it had been me.”

Jesse gave his hand a squeeze and felt the urge to get up from her seat and hug him. She refrained. “It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.” She said. “And the pain never really goes away. It just gets easier.”

Aiden met her gaze and brought his other hand up to swipe at his eyes. “Shit.”

Jesse gave his hand another reassuring squeeze before pulling her’s back. Aiden scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms. Jesse watched him with a grimace. Eventually, his breathing evened out and he laid his hands flat against the table.

They were all dealing with something; whether that be death or the helplessness of their situation. They all needed a moment like this. To just share their pain with each other. Jesse was glad Aiden let her help him.

 She smiled to herself and picked up her cards. _She had a game to win._

“C’mon, let’s finish this game.” She said, smiling mischievously. “I think I might still have a chance of kicking your ass.”

Aiden laughed, swiping at his eyes one more time before picking up his own cards. “There’s no chance, Jesse.”

 

* * *

 

The morning light filtered through the opened curtains, waking Jesse slowly. She pushed herself into a seated position, rubbing at her eyes as she blinked away the haze of sleep. The living room was empty—she could hear the others voices somewhere; most likely in the kitchen—except for her and Aiden. The young male was curled up, arms wrapped tightly around himself, not too far from Jesse. He looked more peaceful than Jesse had ever seen him. She pulled the blanket from around herself and draped it over Aiden. He shifted slightly in his sleep, and Jesse was afraid she had woken him, before settling again. She sighed, relieved, and pushed herself to her feet, shuffling to the kitchen.

The others were in there, minus Henry and Radar, discussing something quietly. Em and Nell were sat in the middle of the floor. Ivor, Harper, Gordon, and Xara were sat at the dining table—it had a map splayed over its surface. Jody, who was leaning against the stove; a cup of coffee in hand, beamed at Jesse as she entered.

 “Good mornin’, dear!” she said. “ya sleep well?”

Jesse nodded as she leant against the wall. “Really good, actually. Where’re Henry and Radar?”

“Upstairs, makin’ a mess, I’m sure.” Jody answered.

Jesse stretched her arms over her head, moving her head side-to-side. “What were you guys talking about?”

“We were having a group meeting of sorts.” Soren replied. He was leant into the counter perpendicular to Jodi. His expression was sober.

“Speaking of, Aiden should probably be in here.” Harper remarked, shifting in her chair. “Is he awake?”

Jesse leaned to look out the doorway. Aiden was still fast asleep. An involuntary smile curled her lips as she shook her head. “No.”

“Could you wake him?” Gordon asked. “We got some plans and we need everyone.”

Jesse nodded pushing back from the wall and heading back into the living room. She knelt by Aiden’s side and shook his shoulder. His breathing hitched as he stirred, blinking up at her. She was surprised by the way his lips quirked into a smile.

“What’s up?” he slurred.

Jesse snickered at him. “We’re having a group meeting. It sounds pretty important.”

Aiden nodded and pushed himself into a seated position. Jesse leaned back on her knees. Aiden scrubbed at his eyes.

“You sleep good?” Jesse asked. Aiden nodded, his hands slowly lowering back to his sides.

“Yeah—” he said rolling his shoulders. “yeah, really good.”

“No nightmares?” Jesse continued. She already knew the answer, but just wanted his affirmation.

“No nightmares,” He smiled at her. It softened a moment later. “Thank you.”

Jesse tilted her head. “For what?”

“Last night,” Aiden said. He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I, uh, I didn’t know how much I needed to talk to someone about what happened. So, thank you.”

Jesse smiled warmly at him. “Of course. That’s what friends are for.”

Aiden met her gaze and returned her smile. “Yeah.”

Jesse pushed herself up from her kneeling position. “C’mon, let’s get in there an’ see what’s up.”

Aiden followed her into the kitchen.

“Is that coffee I smell?” he asked.

Jesse nodded. “They might have more, if you’re lucky.”

He shot her a dry look.  “They _better_ have more.”

They entered and Jody beamed at them. “Hey!”

“Is there more coffee?” Aiden asked. Jesse couldn’t help the snicker.

Jody gestured her head to the old-fashioned coffee pot on the stove. “Enough for one more cup.”

Aiden walked briskly over to the stove; Jody reaching for a mug in the cabinet next to her and handing it to him. He took it from her with a grateful smile before pouring the rest of the pot into the mug. He took a long drink from it. His shoulders relaxing immediately.

“Oh, that’s _good_ ,” He said leaning into the fridge. “So, what’s up?”

“We need more supplies,” Em said sitting up straighter. “we’re doing okay on medicine, but we only have enough canned food for a day or two at the most. And we don’t really need water, but it would be good to get any we can.”

Aiden pursed his lips and nodded. “So?”

“So, we were planning to start searching for supplies. Maybe try some hunting?” Gordon gestured them closer. Aiden and Jesse moved to the table. “There’s an old farm not too far. The man that lived there was a doomsday prepper from hell. It’s bound to have something. And then there’s the lake cabin; I doubt there’s much left there, but it’s worth the look. And then there’s hunting. The deer flock here this time of year. Getting one of them would do us a lotta good.”

Aiden took another sip of his coffee as Jesse leaned into the table, examining the map. “So, who’s going to do what?”

“Em and Nell already said they’d go check out the farmhouse.” Harper said. “And Ivor and I have no problem with going to the lake.”

“So, we just need someone who can hunt.” Xara finished for Harper.

“I’d go,” Gordon interjected. And immediately got a glare from Xara. The balding man winced. “but I still need to heal.”

“I can do it.” Aiden said. Jesse blinked at him. He didn’t seem like the hunting type. “Used to go hunting with my dad a lot.”

“You can fire a hunting rifle?” Gordon asked looking upon Aiden quizzically. Sizing him up. Probably trying to pick out if he was joking.

Aiden nodded, a smug smirk curling his lips. “Of course.”

“Then that’s settled,” Gordon said leaning back in his seat. “You should have someone with you; In case those prisoners come back.”

“I’ll come,” Jesse said. Aiden looked at her wide-eyed. “I’ve never really been hunting. It’ll be good for me to learn.”

“Okay. Then that’s that.” Gordon said. “we need to do this today. The weathers nice, but it could change at any moment. And the more time we waste the less daylight we’ll have.”

Jesse had dressed in four layers. A thermal shirt given to her by Xara. Her pastel blue fleece sweater. And two coats—a light grey hoodie and a thick navy-blue parka, also given to her by Xara. Two pairs of pants; her jeans and some snow pants. A scarf and stocking cap, from Xara as well, and a thick pair of gloves. She stood in the doorway; waiting for Aiden. The world outside looked peaceful, not a flurry of snow or gust of wind to be seen. The air was frigid, but the sun provided just enough warmth to keep Jesse from rethinking her decision.

Aiden came down the stairs [he was wearing a heavy green military-type parka; one that would have been worn by the militia back in the day. Black snow pants, skiing gloves and a wool toque and that scarf of his]; Gordon behind him. The two were talking about the rifle. Jesse paid them little mind as Em and Nell went past her.

“You two be careful,” Jesse said crossing her arms and frowning. “we don’t need to lose anyone else.”

“You too, dude,” Nell said turning at the apex of the stairs. “I better see you back here, so we can play some euchre.”

Jesse grinned and nodded. Nell was convinced she’d be an unworthy adversary, but what she didn’t know was that Jesse was a star euchre player. Not even her uncle was able to beat her _._ “And you’ll get wasted.”

“Be prepared to eat those words, Jesse.” Em said from the bottom of the stairs. “Nell’s really good at euchre.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Jesse retorted sending Nell a challenging glare.

“You’re on!” Nell said and began down the stairs. “As soon as we get back, you’re done, dude.”

Jesse laughed at her and cupped her hands over her mouth shouting back. “I can’t wait!”

The two young women were off after that, heading down the way of the old doomsday preppers farmhouse. Jesse smiled to herself only a moment before it softened into a frown. She hoped they were okay. She hoped this supply run would go without a hitch. She hoped that this whole situation would just be a scare and they would all go back home. She crossed her arms and sighed.

“You ready?”

Jesse turned on her heel and nodded. Aiden had the rifle at his back; slung over his shoulder by the sling. “I am if you are.”

Before Aiden could reply, Jody came up to the doorway leaning into the frame; arms wrapped around herself. Aiden turned to look upon the woman. She frowned at them both.

“You two be careful, ya hear?” Jody said. She shifted her weight and looked over her shoulder into the house. “if ya run int’ trouble out there you come straight back.”

“Jody, we’ll be okay.” Aiden said adjusting the rifle. “I can promise that.”

“I sure hope so,” Jody said and she looked right at Jesse. “I don’t wanna have to explain to Henry why you ain’t here.” Jody looked down and grimaced. “No takin’ chances.”

“We got it, Jody.” Jesse said taking a couple steps forward putting her hand on the woman’s shoulder. Jody frowned up at her. “We know how dangerous it is with those prisoners running around.”

Jody looked down and nodded. Her eyes were far too pained for Jesse’s liking. She moved to embrace the woman. Jody was quick to return the hug.

“We’ll be back by sundown, okay?” Jesse assured as she pulled back.

Jody nodded her arms wrapping back around herself. “Ya best be,” She said. “’Cause if you ain’t, we’re comin’ to look for you.”

“Deal.” Jesse replied taking a few steps back, so she was side-by-side with Aiden. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“Let’s get going.” Aiden said adjusting the rifle again. “The weather looks like it’s gonna hold, but I wouldn’t trust it.”

Jesse pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. _You couldn’t ever trust the weather in The Green Valley._ “Let’s get heading then.”

The walk was grueling. Although the sun was out, it gave off the bare minimum in way of warmth. Even with Jesse’s four layers she was almost chilled by the time they got to the point where the landscape gave way from the town to the more rugged terrain of the forest that surrounded it. There was a trail that led through the sea of evergreens; marked by a sign,

**_DEADMAN’S TRAIL_ **

“Nice name,” Aiden remarked dryly, glancing her way. “Really welcoming.”

Jesse snorted and kicked at the snow as they turned onto the rugged trail. It led to a clearing from what Jesse could remember of the map. The evergreens that towered above them were weighed down by the recent snow. No one used this trail anymore. Not because of _the event_ , but because tourists didn’t come to the Green Valley anymore. No one wanted anything to do with it after the recession. And the collapsed tunnel that ran through the mountains just added to their isolation.

Maybe Aiden had been right. Maybe help wasn’t going to come for them. Maybe they’d all just starve or freeze. Or those prisoners would come and kill them before they could. Maybe they needed to go find help rather than wait for it.

 _Maybe they should head towards Beacontown like those other people did_.

“You okay back there?” Aiden asked glancing over his shoulder at her. Jesse blinked at him. “you’re being _really_ quiet.”

“I’m just—” Jesse faltered on her words. “thinking.”

“About?” Aiden pressed, slowing his pace so Jesse could catch up.

“What you said that first night,” Jesse answered, twiddling her thumbs. “about there being no help.”

Aiden frowned, his brow furrowing. “And?”

“If you’re right, then there’s no point in staying here in Victor Village.” Jesse said firmly, kicking at the snow beneath her. “we should head for Beacontown. Everyone is always told to go to Beacontown in case of an emergency. Maybe there’s other people there. Maybe there’s help.”

Aiden pressed his lips into a hard line. “I don’t think there’s gonna be any help,” He said, “When was the last time anyone cared about the Green Valley?”

Jesse bowed her head and sighed. He was right. She hated it, but he was right.

“But,” Aiden said squeezing her shoulder. “I think it would be a good thing to bring up to the others. We can’t stay here forever and hope we’ll be okay.”

Jesse smiled at Aiden before it softened into a frown. Aiden’s hand dropped from her shoulder. _She was selfish. She only suggested Beacontown because her mother and father just might have headed that way._

“You ever go hiking?” Aiden asked. The change in subject was jarring, but Jesse appreciated the change, nonetheless.

“I mean,” she began lips curling into an amused smile. “who living in the Green Valley hasn’t? You walk three feet and stumble over a hiking trail.”

Aiden laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He paused brow knitting together a moment in thought. “Ever went climbing then?”

“Climbing?” Jesse shook her head. “No.”

“Me neither,” Aiden said. “I can’t do heights.”

Jesse side-glanced over at the boy. Something mischievous bubbling to the surface. “You don’t like heights, huh?”

Aiden glowered at her. “Yes! I’ve been terrified of them since I was a kid.”

Jesse quirked a brow at him. “How old do you consider a kid?”

Aiden scowled. “I was 9. And I… fell out of a tree I was climbing,” He trailed off looking to the side. “Broke my arm in three places. Never climbed again.”

“ _Three_ places?” Jesse pressed. _How far had he fallen?_

“They said I was lucky it was just my arm,” Aiden replied. “I had fractured a couple ribs too.”

Jesse winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. I remember my mom screaming at me as my dad drove us to the hospital.” Aiden smiled to himself. “she screamed at the doctors too. _You’re gonna let me stay with my son the entire time, or so help me I will make you regret it_.” Aiden laughed and shook is head. “I stayed in the hospital for a week or two after… Cassie—”

Aiden trailed off, his expression growing cold and then pained. He shook his head. That was the end of the conversation. Jesse decided not to press. She enjoyed the sounds of the birds anyway.

The trail inclined up to the clearing. It was empty except for a hunter’s blind and a fallen evergreen. There was a burnt-out campfire by the blind. Jesse and Aiden approached slowly. Aiden having pulled the rifle from his back.

“It doesn’t look like anything or anyone has been through here in a while,” Aiden said as Jesse ascended the steps into the blind. “ _Wait_ , no, I see tracks.”

Jesse looked to her left at him as he knelt down. “Animal?”

Aiden nodded as he inspected the ground. “Looks like it, can’t quite make ‘em out. Probably a deer. Maybe a wolf.”

Jesse nodded and continued her search of the blind. There were two backpacks—one blue and one black—propped up against each other in the front corner. “There’s bags in here!” she called to Aiden kneeling to pick them up. They were both heavy. She unzipped the black one first. Medical supplies, food, water. The blue one had ammo, more food, a hunting knife, and a book. Jesse frowned. _Who would leave these behind?_ “they’re filled with supplies!”

“Take them then! We need all we can get.” Aiden said, he sounded closer than before.

Jesse straightened up and looked down at Aiden who was right outside the front of the blind. “What if these are somebody’s?”

“Jesse, nobody has been through here,” Aiden assured. “ _take them_.”

Jesse grimaced and nodded. She knelt again pulling the ammo box from the backpack and presenting it to Aiden. “Think this will fit the rifle?”

“What’s the caliber?”

“Um…” Jesse furrowed her brow in confusion. _Caliber?_ Aiden sighed, looking visibly annoyed.

“There should be a number on the box.”

Jesse mouthed an ‘oh’ as she examined the box in hand, squinting at the number on it. “Three-hundred and eight?”

“.308 caliber?” Aiden repeated back. Jesse nodded, eyes trailing the box again. Aiden smiled. “It’ll fit. Pack it back in and give me one of the bags. We aren’t gonna find any deer… not around here anyway.”

Jesse knelt again and repacked the bags. There was a pit in her stomach. Something biting at her. It was a bad feeling. A _really_ bad feeling.

“Aiden,” she said, voice tight. “I don’t think we should take these. Someone might have just forgotten them. What if they were planning on coming back?”

There was no answer. Jesse’s stomach sank into her boots. She rose slowly. “Aiden?”

Aiden was still there; his stance defensive.

“Aiden?”

Jesse glanced out and her heart leapt into her throat. A wolf prowled toward them. Its eyes trained on Aiden. They were cold and dark.  Aiden made no move to run. He just stood there staring down the wolf. _They weren’t threats,_ Jesse thought, _it wouldn’t attack._ The wolf stopped. And Jesse exhaled shakily. A low growl came from the sleek black canine. Its fur bristling at its back. It bared its teeth in a snarl.

This wolf was _angry,_ and it wanted blood. Aiden needed to get out of there before—

“ _Aiden_ , _run_ ~!”

The wolf charged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I felt like I had to explain the whole 'wolf attack' thing. I know that wolves do not attack humans. However, in TLD they do. It's part of the story and challenge to the game. So, yeah. Hope that doesn't upset anyone too terribly. Thank you for reading this chapter. 
> 
> I can't wait to start the next one!


	4. The Beckoning Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With resources running low and threats from the world outside mounting, the group is forced to make a hard choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! We're back in business! This chapter gave me a lot more trouble then I thought it would. And I'm sure it shows. Chapter 5 shouldn't take as long to upload, I wrote a third of it before I posted this, but we'll see!
> 
> I'm no good with medical stuff, but I did do some research. Although, it might not all be accurate. I hope it isn't too jarring for any of you!
> 
> Enjoy! ^_^

**Warnings: swearing, violence, blood, guns, description of injury, use of tobacco**

 

 

 

> _“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” — Cormac McCarthy; The Road_

 

* * *

 

“.308 caliber?” Jesse nodded, glancing back down at the box briefly; confusion lacing her expression. Aiden couldn’t fight the bemused smile. “It’ll fit. Pack it back in and give me one of the bags. We aren’t gonna find any deer… not around here anyway.”

Jesse gave him one last frown before disappearing below the blind’s walls again. Aiden shook his head. _Those bags had probably been there for days — weeks_ . _If anyone wanted them, they would have come back for them already_. Aiden adjusted his hold on the rifle and bit his lip, examining the blind. It was weathered and rotting in some places. Most likely made of spruce wood. It reminded Aiden of days spent in the forest with his dad and honorary uncle Reginald. Both men had taught him a lot about survival. Like how to skin animals. How to find your way using the stars. How to start a fire. Aiden had never thought he’d need those skills.

_He was just glad he had listened back then._

“Aiden,” Jesse’s voice was tight. Apprehensive. “I don’t think we should take these. Someone might have just forgotten them. What if they were planning on coming back?”

Aiden frowned. _No one was coming back for those bags —_ A crunch of snow had Aiden going stiff. He spun on his heel readying the rifle, his breath hitched, and he lowered it.

He’d never seen a wolf this close before. They tended to avoid people, far too afraid of humans to ever really approach, but this one was coming right for them. Low to the ground as if stalking prey. Piercing yellow eyes fixed on Aiden as if he _was_ that prey. An inaudible breath shuddered in Aiden’s throat. He strained for his voice trying to catch Jesse’s attention, but nothing came forth.

“Aiden?” Jesse called out. And then again; “Aiden?”

 Aiden heard the sharp inhale of breath from Jesse and knew she had seen the wolf. It came to a stop just a few meters from him. Aiden’s throat tightened and he took _one, two, three_ slow steps from the blind before the black canine snarled; bearing its teeth. 

Aiden swore his heart stopped.

“ _Aiden,_ **_run_ ** _~_!”

The wolf charged shortening the distance between Aiden and it in less then a second. Aiden aimed the rifle but was too late. The wolf pounced. Its forceful jaws clamping down on Aiden’s arm as it knocked him to the ground. A pained scream ripped through Aiden’s throat as he wheezed from the strength of the impact. Aiden pressed his free hand into the wolf's chest, the fur around the area was matted with blood. Blood that smelt putrid and metallic. It was a futile action; he was no match for the wolf.

Aiden reached his free arm out struggling to find something, _anything_ . His fingers brushed something solid and he took a tight hold of it, slamming it hard into the wolf’s head once, _twice_. It yelped, jaw loosening around Aiden’s arm. With the few moments Aiden bought himself, he brought up his leg and kicked the wolf back. It whined, shaking its head. 

Taking advantage of the wolf's confusion, Aiden moved back as fast as his arm would let him. He only managed to get a few inches from the predator before it turned on him, eyes wild, teeth bared in a menacing snarl, fur sticking up all over. It was readying for the kill. And Aiden was its prey. Aiden's heartbeat jumped into his throat, thumping harder and harder. Aiden could hear Jesse screaming for him. Her voice nearly hoarse.

The rifle— **_Where was the rifle_ ** ?! _He needed the rifle_!

The wolf lowered itself. _No, no,_ ** _no_** _!_ Aiden moved back again. _Get away._ **_He had to get away_**! The pain in his arm was excruciating, like _fire_. Aiden’s back hit something solid—a tree. His breath hitched. The wolf snarled again and then lunged. Aiden turned himself from the wolf, eyes screwed shut~

**BANG!**

The blast from the rifle echoed through the trees; spooking some of the nesting birds, who flew up in a cacophony of chirps. The wolf landed with a thud next to him. Aiden’s eyes snapped open; the wolf’s yellow one’s staring back as it wheezed out it's final breaths. He screamed, scrambling away from the predator. The pain in his arm flared up violently and he collapsed onto his right side with a yelp and hiss; eyes screwing shut in pain.

“Aiden!” Footsteps crunched through the snow quickly, Jesse landing on her knees at his side. “ _Oh my God_!”

Aiden pushed himself up, gritting his teeth, the pain sharp. Jesse’s eyes were wild with panic, her skin having gone a shade paler than normal, thin frame trembling. Before he could say anything, Jesse had wrapped her arms around him; fingers digging into the back of the parka, face burying into his shoulder. Her breath came in short, hot bursts as she sobbed. Aiden weakly lowered his head onto her shoulder. 

And everything was still for a long moment.

Jesse moved back and quickly addressed his wound pulling back the ripped fabric of the parka. Aiden wasn't able to get a look himself, Jesse jerking back with a sharp gasp.

“We,” Jesse’s voice faltered as she pushed herself up to her feet. “we gotta get you back to Ivor.”

Aiden blinked up at her and nodded as she helped him to his own feet. He stood still as she made her way over to the rifle, slinging it over her shoulder. She looked back at him with a frown.

“Are you good?”

Aiden nodded and took a few measured steps. He pulled his arm tightly against his torso, lips curling into a grimace. A tremble had taken over and he found himself shivering violently as he gripped onto the post of the blind, watching as Jesse ascended the steps. He gritted his teeth together and pulled his arm away from his torso. The front of the parka was stained red. Blood still dripping from his wound. _They needed to stop the bleeding somehow, he'd go into shock if they didn't._ Jesse came down from the blind, a backpack at her shoulders and one being carried. She inhaled sharply, dropping the other bag as she strode over to him.

" _Oh my God,_ " she murmured, panic rising in her voice. "you're bleeding bad!"

"Yeah," Aiden said lowly. "we need to try to stop it."

"Stop it..." Jesse trailed off her eyes widening as she turned on her heel, kneeling beside the black bag she had just dropped. "Bandages!" 

She rose and spun on her heel coming back to him. Aiden slumped into the blind setting his jaw as a searing spike of pain shot up his arm. A low hiss escaped Aiden's lips. Jesse was quickly unwrapping a bit of the roll of bandages ripping it with her teeth before reaching for Aiden. She rolled up the parka sleeve gently and sucked in a sharp gasp. Aiden glanced down at the wound wrinkling his nose. Lacerations and bruises surrounded the deep gash left by the jaws of the wolf and blood oozed from the central wound, staining Aiden's arm red and obstructing the tribal design of his tattoo.

"I'll try to be careful." Jesse said before wrapping the bandage roll around his arm. She was gentle and hesitant, every time she had to touch his wound; her eyes would shoot up gauging him a brief moment, searching for pain, before returning to her bandaging. Once finished with her work, she grimaced.

"Okay, we-- we gotta keep moving," she said pivoting on her heel and snatching the bag once more. She looked over her shoulder. "You good?"

Aiden pushed back from the blind, nodding. Jesse frowned at him before starting her trek back to the exit of the clearing. Aiden gripped his arm tightly, gritting his teeth, and followed after her. The wind picked up; the gusts becoming violent, whipping the branches of the evergreen trees. Aiden trudged behind Jesse slowly. The pain in his arm had become a constant buzz, blocking out anything else. The cold was barely a twinge to the pain that pulsed and prickled. Jesse kept looking back at him from over her shoulder. A new emotion flickering in her dark eyes each time. Aiden quickened his pace to catch up with the girl.

"Are you o--" he began, voice shaky.

"I'm fine." she said curtly. The tears that shone in her eyes said otherwise. Aiden began to reach out for her only to find his palm stained red from his own blood. He brought his hand back to his wound. Better to keep the pressure on it. "What the hell was that anyway?!"

Aiden was surprised by Jesse's sudden outburst; even more so by how almost shrill her voice was. 

"Wolves aren't supposed to just... attack like that!" Jesse's breath shuddered her eyes wide with fear. "I was always told..." she trailed off, eyes screwed shut.

Aiden looked over his shoulder, swallowing thickly. "I know."

Jesse frowned at him and then shook her head. They continued on in silence. The pain in Aiden's arm began to dull which would have been a good thing had it not felt like everything was beginning to numb. Aiden wished he could blame it on the cold but with how hard it was becoming to focus and how shallow his breathing was becoming; _He knew it was something else_. Aiden stumbled, legss buckling under his own weight; his knees hitting the snow. Jesse dropped the bag in hand, rushing to Aiden's aid.

"Aiden!" her voice was shrill. Aiden didn't like that she sounded so scared. It tugged on something within. She pulled him upright, setting him steady on his feet. Her hands gripping his biceps. "C'mon, stay with me, we're almost back."

Aiden blinked at her and then focused his attention forward to the trail. He could just make out the sign for 'Deadman's Trail'. He nodded. Jesse took hold of his arm, grabbed the bag again, and they continued forward, slowly. Exhaustion, heavy and insistent, tugged on every fiber of Aiden. His feet began to drag.

Jesse shook him, her voice tight and scared. "Aiden, you gotta stay with me," Aiden felt that guilty tug again as he tried to focus on Jesse. She grimaced. "tell me something, anything."

"I," Aiden scrunched his nose a sudden spike of pain rolling through his arm. "I have a sister..." his words slurred and he wondered if she could even make out what he'd said.

"Yeah," Jesse smiled, but it was strained. Her brown eyes were clouded with worry. Aiden didn't like it. "what's her name?"

"M-maya." Aiden rasped, swallowing thickly.

Jesse squeezed his upper forearm gently, a gesture meant to keep him alert. "What's she like?"

"A br-brat," Aiden said with a chuckle, a smile tilting up at his lips. "Always made me drive her places, told on me the one time I actually snuck out," Aiden felt something heavy blanket over him. A sadness that made his heart squeeze, that made the pain and haze seem far away. "she was the best little sister. I wish I knew she was okay."

Jesse grimaced adjusting her grip on him. "There's always hope, Aiden."

Aiden scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it."

The conversation fizzled there. The gust of the wind, crunching snow, and Aiden's ragged breathing the only sound between them. Aiden could just make out the beginning of the main road. They were getting close to town.

"Just a little farther, Aiden." Jesse said softly. Aiden blinked at her, that haze growing thick and heavy. It was like he wasn't really there. Everything slowly blurring, a warm numbness washing over him. they came to a stop Jesse shaking him gently. "Aiden, c'mon, stay with me, buddy."

"'m, tryin', Jess..." 

 _He was so tired. So very tired. He just... he just wanted to sleep_ . _Just wanted the pain to stop._ Jesse continued to shake him, fighting to keep him upright.

"C'mon, Aiden, just a little farther, come on!" 

It was all too much for Aiden. The pain, the haze, _the cold_. That exhaustion that had settled became like a dead weight and he found himself falling away from Jesse; the girl quickly grabbing for him but with no luck. Her shrill voice called for him as he landed on the frozen, snow-covered ground below them. And faded into the beckoning dark.

 

* * *

 

Aiden woke to a sharp, burning, pain in his arm. The kind that came in waves and held him tightly to the waking world. He blinked, fighting against his heavy eyelids and straining against exhausted muscles. His lips were chapped and dry, throat sore. His entire body felt like it was on fire. The blanket he was under, thick and wool, was most likely the culprit. The bed was at least comfortable. Aiden looked around the room, quickly recognizing it as the one Jody and Henry usually slept in. A storm lantern burned on the nightstand to his left, the flame flickering low. Aiden strained himself to look over to his right, where he found Nell sat in a dining chair, obviously pulled from the table downstairs, legs crossed over one another, reading a book. 

Aiden attempted to say her name, his voice coming out in a hoarse rasp, as he pushed himself into a seated position. Nell looked up at him. A smile quickly tilting the corners of her lips upwards.

"Hey, dude, you're awake!" she sat forward placing her book on the nightstand, pages down. "how're you feeling?"

Aiden coughed. "I've been better." His voice was more audible now, but still hoarse. Talking hurt his throat quite a bit too. Aiden brought his hand up rubbing at the offending area as if it would help. 

"I'm sure," Nell began before reaching down to the side and pulling up a water bottle, handing it over to him. "here, you're probably, like, thirsty."

Aiden pushed himself up on his right arm, a spike of sharp needle-like pain shooting through his arm. " _Shit_." he hissed through gritted teeth, screwing his eyes shut a brief moment as the pain pulsed and then dulled. He reached for the water bottle after, taking it from Nell and quickly uncapping it, downing a third of the contents.

He coughed as he brought the bottle away, and pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to stifle it. Once the fit was managed, he screwed the cap back onto the water bottle and set it on the nightstand next to Nell's book. The woman was studying him, or well, studying his arm.

"Who did yer tat, bruh?" Nell asked, eyes bright. Aiden looked down at his arm. It was bandaged now, the grisly wound from earlier entirely covered, and the upper portion of his tattoo was the only thing visible. " _It's rad_."

"Oh," Aiden brought his hand down, fingers brushing where the bandages ended. "my dad did it for me." his lips quirked into a smile for a brief moment before the momentary happiness fizzled. "Graduation present."

Nell grinned and rolled up the sleeve of her green hoodie, presenting her arm. "Em did mine for me!" The tattoo was tribal, the same as Aiden's in design except without the vines and flowers wrapping through and around it. "We're, like, tat buddies!"

Aiden chuckled, his fingers tracing the design of his own tattoo before he looked up. Nell's demeanor had changed, smile gone, brow furrowed, hands in her lap. Aiden frowned back as his hand slid absently to where his wound was. "How's~"

"Jesse?" Nell asked. "She's okay, I think?" Nell pushed down her hoodie sleeve and shook her head. "she wouldn't leave you, wanted to make sure you were okay."

Aiden blinked and then frowned. "If it weren't for her, I might _not_ be."

Nell frowned and began to pick at the hem of her hoodie. "She, uh, she told us what happened. Ivor said you were lucky the wolf didn't do more damage than it did."

"It would've," Aiden shuddered, his eyes screwing shut, images of the wolf and it's menacing yellow eyes flashing before him. "If Jesse hadn't taken that shot..." Aiden's throat tightened; his voice strangled. 

Nell reached out and patted his shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze after. "You're here. And you're okay." Aiden's lower lip trembled and he bit down on it nodding. Nell smiled and retracted her hand back to her lap, a half-hearted grin curling her lips. "That's definitely gonna leave one wicked scar! You're gonna look like a total _badass_."

Aiden laughed through the muddy haze of fear, taking in a couple deep breaths before flashing Nell a smile back. "Yeah." Aiden cleared his throat, straightening his back and rolling his shoulders. His composure coming back slowly. "What, uh," Aiden cleared his throat. He needed the subject change. "what were you reading?"

"Oh!" Nell reached for the book with a grin, presenting the cover; _The Wizard's Gambit_ was embossed on the front. "I found _this baby_ under the bed in here."

"Ah, now that," Aiden said, grinning. "is a good book."

"This is my first time reading it!"

 Aiden blinked at the woman incredulously. "Your _first time_?"

"I've seen the movie! Em is really big on this fantasy-magic stuff! Made me watch it," Nell thumbed the pages of the book. "I didn't expect the book to be such a, like, page-turner!"

Aiden shook his head settling back on the pillows and disliking how they were laid out. He moved back and adjusted them. "It's a really good book," he said, laying back once he'd finished arranging, satisfied. "I was in-love with it. _Still am_. I think it's the reason I wanted to become a writer."

 "You wanted to be a writer?" Nell said, excitement dripping through her voice. "That's righteous! You tell the stories of worlds no one knows about!"

 Aiden laughed and wrinkled his nose. "I'd only had one work-in-progress before th~" Aiden swallowed thickly, his throat tightening; _the crash, Cassie's screams_ . His fingers curled into his fist. " _before_."

 Nell's excitement fizzled and she flashed him an apologetic smile, rubbing at the back of her neck and then sweeping her blonde dreads back. "I bet you can't guess what I did before?"

 She grinned, left brow quirking. It was a challenge. Aiden laughed and narrowed his gaze. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "Alright," he scrutinized Nell a long moment, going through every known career path he could name... and came up blank. "uh, delivered pizza's?"

Nell scoffed, swatting at his shoulder. "Low blow, man!" 

Aiden laughed and pushed her hand back. "Sorry!"

"Actually, you're not completely wrong. I did do that for, like, 3 months," Nell pursed her lips brow furrowing in thought for a brief moment. "but, I was running a fishing tackle slash surf shop!"

Aiden grinned. "You know, I woulda guessed that second."

Nell laughed wryly. "Yeah right!"

A not-entirely-tense-but-definitely-not-comfortable silence took between them. Nell pulled at the frays in the cuffs of her hoodie. Aiden reached for the water bottle again, taking a long drink as he thought; about his life before and the new life he was living now and how he had taken so much for granted.

The latch of the door clicking as it was opened brought Aiden up from his thoughts and his eyes darted up to meet those of Em's. Nell turned in her seat and smiled faintly. 

" _Hey, babe_."

"You're awake." Em said to Aiden instead; only just barely sparing a smile her girlfriend's way. Aiden grimaced.

"How long was I out?"

"More than a few hours," Em answered crossing her arms as she leaned into the frame of the door. "Are you feeling alright? Not weak or lightheaded?"

Aiden nodded, rubbing a thumb along his bandages. "I'm good; other than my arm hurts like hell."

"I don't know when the last time Ivor gave you pain medicine was," Em replied. "if your arm hurts that bad, I can~"

" _No,_ " Aiden said quickly. _They didn't have that many painkillers as it was_. "I'm good."

Em nodded and rolled her shoulders.

"How's Jesse doin', Emmy?" Nell asked folding her arms over the back of the chair, resting her chin atop them. Em sighed, a fond smile gracing her lips.

"She's playing ‘Go Fish’ with Henry," she said her gaze skirting back over to Aiden. "I should probably tell the others you're awake. Ivor wanted to be told right when you woke up."

Em pushed away from the doorframe leaving it ajar as she disappeared. Nell turned back to Aiden with a warm smile. She was about to say something when a series of footfalls echoed through the hall outside. Jesse appeared at the door first, pushing it open, her expression becoming one of relief as she met his gaze. Jody was there not too long after, sweeping past Jesse into the room. The brunette woman came up to him her hands on his shoulder, checking him all over.

"Are you feelin' alright? You look so pale!"

Aiden laughed, brushing her off gently. His heart squeezed; reminded painfully of his mother and the family he didn't know the condition of. "I'm _okay_ , Jody."

Jody smiled, her eyes shimmering. "Okay."

Jody moved to the side; Ivor taking her place. He looked over him with all the finesse and overbearing manner of a doctor. No detail left unscrutinized.

"Your dressings look good," Ivor said, moving back. "I'm a little concerned with how pale you are, but you haven't eaten much today. We'll get you some food and see how you look then."

Aiden nodded. He couldn't argue with that. A hot meal sounded good.

"I got it." Jody said without missing a beat, moving past Nell and to the door where Jesse was leaning into the door frame. She quickly moved out of the woman's way and into the room leaning into the wall next to the door instead. She smiled his way briefly before bowing her head. Nell pushed herself up from the chair swiping the book off the nightstand and pivoting on her heel heading for the door. Ivor followed after her but stopped at the door turning to Aiden. 

"Eat _all_ of the soup Jody brings up here." 

"Yes, sir." 

And with that Ivor was gone. Jesse stood by the door for a long moment before crossing and sitting in the chair Nell had previously occupied. She crossed her legs, hands clasped in her lap as she twiddled her thumbs. Aiden had no idea how to go about talking to her. She'd saved his life. _Did he thank her? Did he apologize that she had to do that?_ Jody bought him a few more moments to think it over; sweeping back in with a mug in hand. Aiden could smell the soup as soon as she walked in (some kind of beef stew). Jody sat the mug down stirring the soup with the spoon inside. 

"It's hot," the woman said. "give it a couple minutes."

Aiden smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Jody."

Jody smiled back and then turned to Jesse, pulling a hard candy from her pocket and shaking the wrapper in front of Jesse. Jesse frowned. "Jody..."

"Just take it," the woman said curtly. "Henry _really_ doesn't need it."

Jesse looked at the candy for a long moment without answering. Aiden decided to poke some fun at her. Maybe it would help ease that tension. "If you don't take it, _I_ _will._ "

Jesse glowered at him, taking the candy from Jody quickly. Aiden scrunched his nose, a bemused smile curling his lips. Jody chuckled before squeezing Jesse's shoulder. "I'll be downstairs if you two need anything, okay?"

"Okay."

Aiden watched Jody exit. The woman closing the door behind her. Aiden turned back to the soup, reaching over to test if the handle was too hot, and finding it wasn't. He picked it up giving the soup a stir. _It smelt heavenly_.

"It's good," Jesse said softly. "like _really_ good."

"It smells good." Aiden replied taking a spoonful. It was hot, just like Jody said, burning the inside of Aiden's mouth; he was hungry enough he didn't care, taking another spoonful afterward.

Jesse laughed at him. "Isn't it hot?"

" _Very_."

Jesse's laughter grew louder, a bright smile gracing her features. Aiden felt a twinge of heat in his face as he sat the mug down and snatched up the water bottle sipping at it gingerly, a smile beginning to twitch at the corners of his lips. Jesse's laughter soon fizzled, though, her expression becoming sober.

"Thank you." Aiden said quickly, not wanting to fall into the rut of not being able to find something to say.

Jesse grimaced. "You don't need to thank me."

"Fine," Aiden said trying to play up humor. "then I appreciate that you didn't let me become wolf food."

The humor didn't take with Jesse. Her features pulling into a scowl as she swatted at his shoulder, _hard_. "Don't say that!"

"Sorry!" Aiden held his arms up in surrender; the right giving a painful protest. 

Jesse shrunk in on herself; her gaze dropping to her hands that were once again clasped and resting in her lap. It was silent for a moment. Aiden searched for a way to break past that ice he had caused to form with his ill-humor. 

He came up empty.

"I've only ever been that scared one other time in my life." Jesse said softly; voice frail and breaking. There were no tears. _Not yet_.

Aiden inhaled sharply, the breath catching in his throat. Guilt settled heavily and he reached for something to say to ease the sudden tension. Finding nothing, he instead chose to reach out and settled his left hand atop her clasped ones.

Jesse met his gaze and flashed him a broken smile. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Before Aiden could reply, Henry came rushing into the room. Aiden pulled his hand back to himself smiling at the boy as he approached Jesse, almost tugging on the girl’s arm like he tugged on Jody's.

"Jesse, you're coming back downstairs, _right_?"

 Jesse frowned. "Maybe we could play up here instead? So Aiden doesn't have to be alone?"

Aiden was about to protest, he didn't need to be kept company or babied, but the way Henry lit up had the words fizzling on his tongue.

"He can play too! Go fish is way funner with three people!"

And with that, the boy pivoted on his heel and ran out the door. Aiden could hear his footfalls on the steps. Jesse turned back in her seat looking right at Aiden. 

"You don't have to play."

"No," Aiden pursed his lips. He wanted to focus on something trivial. Wanted to pay attention to something other than how close he'd come to being maimed today or how screwed their situation was. " _I want to_."

 

* * *

 

The wind was howling, kicking up the fresh powder that had fallen the night before. Aiden watched out the window intently, gaze fixed on the burned remains of the house across the street. He had his fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of the coffee mug. The sun had barely just began to rise, painting the sky orange and pink. 

There were perks to getting up early, like first dibs on the coffee and getting to watch the sun rise. The quiet tranquility didn’t last long though. Soon everyone else was up and milling about, talking amongst themselves. The creek of a floorboard alerted Aiden, his attention turning to the person entering.

Harper offered a smile. “I see you already got into the coffee.”

Aiden flashed a smile. “Of course I did.”

Harper squeezed his shoulder and Aiden could immediately feel where the older woman was about to steer the conversation. He presented his arm without a word, sighing. She offered him a quirked brow before smiling.

“Thank you.” 

She rolled the sleeve of his sweater [a new green one given to him by Gordon; it fit surprisingly well] up and examined his dressings before unraveling them to reveal the just healing stitches. Aiden winced, an image of the wolf flashing in his mind. His eyes immediately screwing shut.

“Everything seems to be healing well,” Harper said. “no infection.”

Aiden offered a strained smile. “That’s good.”

Harper nodded. “I’m gonna change your dressings. _Don’t move_ , I’ll be back in a moment.”

With that, she gathered up the old dressings and headed through the doorway. Aiden’s jaw set and he curled his fingers back around the mug handle, taking a long sip from the coffee, occasionally glancing at the wound on his arm. He tried to focus on something else rather than the sudden tightness in his chest. 

The distraction came in the form of Jody and Henry who walked in hand-in-hand.

The woman motioned to the seat to the left of Aiden. “Go sit down, I’ll get you some water and a granola bar.”

 The boy nodded releasing Jody’s hand and taking the seat next to Aiden. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned, stretching before tapping at the table. Aiden shook his head at the boy, taking another sip from his coffee. He was always filled with such energy. Helped the rest of them feel better about their situation.

Henry tilted his head and Aiden followed his gaze to the wound on his arm. He froze, thought about pulling it to him and hiding the ugly scar from view. But he was too late, the boy’s curiosity had been piqued.

“Does it hurt?” he asked looking up at Aiden with those wide brown eyes. “It looks like it hurts real bad.”

“N-no, not as bad as it did.” Aiden brought his right hand to his left arm, running his thumb along the stitches. Henry nodded and pressed his lips into a thin line. He continued to examine the wound.

“Was it scary?”

Aiden stopped mid-motion of drinking his coffee, throat tightening. The attack coming back like he was there again. The wolf’s teeth snapping, the pain of its jaw around his arm. Aiden screwed his eyes shut as he set the mug against the table. 

“It was.” His voice came in a croak.

“Henry,” Jody started as she came up to the table placing a water bottle and two granola bars down in front of the boy. “Why don’t you go give one of these to your brother, yeah?”

“Okay!” Henry nodded enthusiastically, pushing the chair back and hopping to his feet. He scooped up the water bottle and granola bars in the next moment and briskly exited the kitchen. Aiden exhaled a held breath.

 Jody placed her hand on Aiden’s shoulder not a moment later, a frown tilting her lips downward.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Jody said. “he’s real curious.”

“It’s okay, Jody.” Aiden said. The woman frowned as she took the seat next to him.

“Are you all right?”

Aiden inhaled sharply through his nose and exhaled slowly. “I’m fine, Jody.”

The woman nodded her gaze falling to the wound on his arm. “It looks way better than it did.”

“That’s what Harper keeps saying.” Aiden lifted his arm to examine it. It was going to leave a nasty scar behind.

“Well, she’s right.” Jody said, nodding encouragingly. Things went quiet for a moment after that. Jody looking out the window and Aiden laying his arm back against the table. Taking a long sip from his nearly finished coffee.

“Good, you listened to me.” Aiden turned to look at Harper, rolling his eyes. 

“Have nowhere else to be.”

“Not according to Henry and Jesse,” Harper said with a snort as she gently lifted his arm, wrapping the new bandages about the wound. “You’re going to be taking the third seat in finishing that puzzle.”

Aiden laughed wryly, an involuntary smile quirking at his lips as he took to downing the rest of his coffee.

“You need to drink that slower,” Jody chided. “You’re gonna make yourself sick!”

Aiden’s smile dropped, his heart squeezing. Isa used to say that to him a lot. _Even when the woman did it herself._ He’d seen her down an entire mug in five seconds flat. He pressed his lips into a hard line and feigned annoyance. Hoping neither of the women noticed his sudden shift in mood.

“I’ll live.”

Finished with redressing his wound, Harper stepped back and crossed her arms. “They really did want you to help them with the puzzle. Wanted me to ask you.” she said. “Even if you don’t do that, I’m gonna have to ask you to get up. We’re having a group meeting.”

Aiden’s brow furrowed as he looked up at Harper. “And you don’t want me and Jesse there?” 

Jody sat back in her chair. “All we’re discussing is supplies. It’s nothing to~”

Aiden fixed his gaze on Jody. “If you guys are discussing anything I think we deserve the right to be there.”

“Aiden, look,” Harper said sternly. “We’re planning another run. And you’re injured and Jesse already asked to be kept out of it.” Aiden turned from Harper clenching his fist. “You’ll have other chances to help,” Harper sat her hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “but right now, you need to focus on healing.”

Aiden sighed and nodded as he pushed himself up from the chair. _No point in arguing; they’d made their minds up._

Aiden had always liked puzzles. He could have been described as the weird kid back in grade school. He enjoyed puzzles and reading rather than rough housing. Although, that was always fun, he liked quieter activities. Something to let him recharge.

This was nice, working together with Jesse and Henry on the puzzle almost got his mind entirely off the group meeting he’d been barred from. Aiden hadn’t gotten to see the box, but from what he could gather the finished picture was meant to be a lake landscape. His companions chatted idly about trivial things. Aiden just listened as he pieced the corner section he’d been assigned to together.

 _It was easy to forget that things weren’t okay_.

That fragile peace shattered not too long after Aiden began to really settle into it. Xara, Nell, and Em gearing up to go out. Aiden watched them with a deep frown, only caught bits and pieces of what they were discussing. Apparently, they were going farther out than they normally would. Some cabins that were about a four hour walk from Victor Village. Aiden felt an odd twist in his stomach. A bad feeling. But it wasn’t his place to speak up. They left without much words to the rest of them.

 And they were left to just wait and hope they came back.

 

* * *

 

Time ticked by in a slow crawl and as the day marched toward the evening. What had been mild worry for Em, Nell, and Xara’s safety became a near panic, albeit an unspoken one. Aiden had endured it for the most part; him, Jesse, and Henry finishing the puzzle. The two then went off to color while Aiden read a book he picked randomly from the bookcase. 

The others mostly just went about the day, but as evening came, the whispers began. _They should be back by now. Why aren’t they back? You don’t think something happened, do you? We should go out looking, they could be hurt._ It was a constant cycle of worry and reassurance that tore at Aiden far more than it should have. 

Aiden eventually caved, couldn’t take the suffocating tension building in the house anymore. He needed to get away. So, out onto the porch he went all the while assuring the others that he was fine, just needed some air. Jody wouldn’t let him step foot outside without a jacket. So, he pulled on the military parka he’d been given before. The sleeve had been patched by Jody in the days after the attack.

Aiden was grateful. He liked how the jacket fit.

Once outside, Aiden collapsed onto the bench, exhaling shakily. The wind howled as it gusted past the, what used to be, enclosed porch. The chill was biting. Aiden was almost glad Jody had told him to put on a jacket. He settled into the back of the bench and watched as the sun hit the horizon, turning the sky an orange-yellow. The clouds that hung in the sky were thin and wispy. Common winter clouds. 

Aiden rubbed his hands together, the chill already nipping at them. He shouldn’t stay out too long. His eyes skirted to the wood storage box and he bit his lip. _One cigarette wouldn’t hurt_ . _Would likely take the edge off_. He rose from the bench and crossed to the wood storage box. He’d hid the carton he found at Fred’s General for safekeeping, mostly. He didn’t mind sharing, but he also did.

 Aiden’s brow knitted together as he opened the box. They weren’t there~

 “Ya lookin’ for these?”

 Aiden spun around to see Gordon there shaking a pack of cigarettes. Aiden sighed. _So, his secret had been found out._  

 “ _Maybe_.” he said dryly. Gordon grinned as he took a seat on the bench.

 “I gotta commend ya, kid. I almost didn’t find these.” Gordon said, opening the pack and pulling a cigarette from it before offering Aiden one. Aiden took it. “And you’re _real_ lucky it was me ‘cause if it had been my wife you’d have been chewed out for hiding them.”

 Aiden rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure.” 

 Gordon sat the pack down and fished out a package of cardboard matches. He held the cigarette between his teeth as he struck the match on the bench. He lit it and then handed Aiden the match. Aiden lit his cigarette before waving the match out and discarding it into the snow. He took a drag and the tension seemed to melt immediately.

 It was silent between them for awhile. Aiden could tell Gordon was worried even when he didn’t say anything. How couldn’t he be? _His wife was out there_.

 “Do you think they’re okay?” Aiden finally asked.

 The older man sighed and pursed his lips. He was silent for a long moment, taking a drag off his cigarette. 

 “The sun hasn’t set yet. I’m sure they’re fine.”

 Aiden nodded. He chose to cling to that. Things were fine. They’d come this far and everything was going to be fine. It had to be. It would be. _It was going to be_. The hope was fragile and hardly meant anything, but to it Aiden clung. 

  _They would be back._

 

* * *

 

_They didn’t come back that night._

They had taken to shifts of watching out for Em, Nell, and Xara which Aiden had seen as a bit futile. It wasn’t like any of them would have gotten any sleep anyway. Still, they placed the shifts. Aiden took the last one before dawn. 

He sat on the couch, a candle burning low, watching the door. Time crawled by. Aiden thought of every bad scenario. The candle went out. And the suns rays began to filter through the window. Soon the others had awoken. They all looked as grim as Aiden felt. There was no real chatter, not even from Henry. They warmed peaches for breakfast and ate in silent anxiety. 

Time continued to crawl by. The dark atmosphere in the house only seemed to get worse. Finally a meeting was called. And Henry and Radar were told to go play in the living room.

“We need to send a group out to look for them!” Jesse looked desperate and tired. Her voice almost shrill.

“It’s not likely~”

“Don’t even finish that sentence.” Gordon glowered Soren’s way and the man sunk in on himself. 

“While, I hate to agree with my colleague,” Ivor chimed in. “the likelihood that they are okay is slim. Being out in that cold could cause hypothermia quickly.”

Gordon flashed a glare Ivor’s way and he quickly scrambled to continue.

“But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look! If they are okay, they’re going to need medical attention.”

“Then it’s decided?” Gordon said firmly. “We send people out to look?”

There was no other choice.

“Okay then,” Jody said. She looked more worried than Aiden had seen her before. “Who’s goin’?”

“Well, I’m going no matter what,” Gordon replied. “none of you are arguing.”

“I’ll go with you.” Harper said. Ivor almost immediately turned on her, eyes wide, almost shaking his head. Harper gripped his hand, flashing a broken smile. “It’ll be okay, hon. We have to do this.”

“I’ll go too.” Jesse spoke up. Her posture and tone held vehement determination but Aiden felt nothing but panic tighten around him. His heartbeat thumping loudly. He hadn’t a moment to think on the sudden reaction; Henry sweeping in.

“Mommy!”

Jody turned to her son with a stern gaze. “Henry, honey, we’re talk~”

“They’re outside! _They came back_!”

The next moment the door swung open. They all rushed to the archway into the living room. Xara and Nell were barely supporting Em. 

“Oh my God! Harper exclaimed rushing over to them. “What happened?!”

“She’s hurt,” Xara said firmly. “help her and I’ll explain the rest.”

They brought Em to the couch, she was conscious but looked to be hurting, and Ivor immediately began to look her over. Nell was by her side, gripping Em’s hand. Xara was quickly ambushed by her husband who pulled her into a tight embrace. The woman Aiden only ever saw as strong seemed to break, almost sobbing as she clung to the man.

“What happened?” Gordon asked as he pulled the woman back just slightly.

“The prisoners. They…” Xara’s voice broke. “They’ve been watching us this whole time, Gordon! They know where we are. They took the bag of supplies we managed to find. And…” Xara paused the tears stopping as she looked up at Gordon. “They’re coming back. This… This was just a warning. We have to leave. Or… or…”

“Hey, hey…” Gordon pulled Xara against him. But her words had struck a chord with him and all of them. 

_They had thought they were safe, but they weren’t. They never had been. The predators had just been waiting for the right time._

 “We leave, then,” Gordon said after a moment. “Head to Beacontown. It’s our best bet.”

It was settled almost right in that moment. None of them dared to even argue about it. They had to leave. It was a scramble to grab everything they could carry, supply-wise. And then take some extra non-essentials. Everyone bundled up the best they could and with their backpacks full: _they started on the road._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking this out! Have a swell day!


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